We Obey Jesus Because We Love Him

There is a great privilege in keeping His word.

Jesus said, “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.” Judas (not Iscariot) said to Him, “Lord how is it that You will manifest Yourself to us and not to the world?” Jesus answered and said to him, “If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home with him,” (John 14:21-23).

The whole relationship between man and God is based on love. He sacrificed His only begotten Son because He loved the world so much. We were His enemies but because He loved us so much Christ died so that we can be reconciled to Him. He expects nothing less from us, that is why He says you shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul and with all your strength.

Jesus therefore left us with a new commandment that we love one another as He loved us. This is the commandment that the Apostle John accentuates in his letters. “But he who loves his brother abides in the light and there is no cause for stumbling in him. But he who hates his brother is in darkness and walks in darkness, and does not know where he is going, because the darkness has blinded his eyes,” (1 John 2:10 – 11)

By doing this we demonstrate that we know our Lord and we love Him. That is why Jesus says He will manifest or reveal Himself to us. Jesus cannot reveal Himself to those who are in darkness, He is the light therefore Has no fellowship with darkness. That is what sets us apart from the world.

Judas asked an important question and wanted to find out how He would do that.  Jesus said He, together with the Father will come and dwell in us – make a home with us. When we obey His commandments we are basically welcoming Him to dwell in our hearts and He continually reveals Himself. We know that it is the Holy Spirit that dwells in us, teaching, guiding and leading us to and through the truth.

There is no denying that the word of God is the truth and obeying it we are simply obeying the truth. The beautiful fact is that God never forces you to obey His word. He gives you the free will and your obedience stems from love. Your earthly father may use his authority to force you to respond positively to his command but God simply needs you to do it out of love. That is why Jesus asked Peter three times if he loved Him and commanded him to take care of his sheep.

There is no way we can love and fellowship with God without loving one another. There is also no way we can fellowship with God without holiness. Since God is holy we have to be holy in all our conduct. So the Apostle John says whoever keeps His word, truly the love of God is perfected in him and by this we know that we are in Him.