-December 30, 2024-
Good morning beloved, happy Monday,
“If you love Me, keep My commandments.”
(John 14:15).
The Bible has been aptly called, “God’s love letter to man.” When we think of love letters, we envision the private, personal, and precious words spoken between a man and a woman. Back in my days we actually wrote letters and mailed them. And we even spent hours on the telephone. Nowadays in our age of technology we employ emails and texts.
God loved us and we have it in written form in the Bible. In return, the Lord wants us to love Him. Jesus said, “If you love Me, keep (or as it can be rendered, “you will keep” My commandments.” There is an intrinsic link between love and obedience. God doesn’t want us to obey Him out of fear of Him, but rather love for Him.
Deuteronomy 6:5 says, “You shall love the Lord with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength.” Three times Moses uses the little word “all.” He could have said, “You shall love the Lord with your heart, your soul, and your strength; but by adding the word all it specifies the extent of our love is that should be to the highest level.
When a lawyer asked Jesus which is the greatest commandment, He quoted this one as the greatest, and to love one’s neighbor as himself as the second greatest. No one other than Jesus has ever done this perfectly all the time, but we strive for it.
Jesus also said in John 14:21, “He who has My commandments and keeps them, it is he who loves Me. And he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and manifest Myself to him.”
There is no greater love of a child than to obey out of love; to want to please his or her mother and father. In the same way, God delights in our love that is demonstrated in obedience and childlike faith.
Let us love the Lord more with all our heart, all our soul, and all our mind; and obey Him because we love Him. Have a blessed day. Stay safe and healthy.
The highest love comes from an obedient heart, a willing heart, and a sincere heart.
Dean
Dean Allen's Daily Devotional 