If You Love Me...

(John 14:15-31)

Jesus say in verse 15, "If you love me, you will obey what I command." Also in verse 21, "Whoever has my commands and obeys them, he is the one who loves me." Again in verse 23, "If anyone loves me, he will obey my teaching."

Conversely, verse 24 says, "He who does not love me will not obey my teachings."

Another way of saying this might be, "actions speak louder than words," but everyone has heard that before. It has become cliché, and thus, lost its power and potency. So let's try it again rephrased...

If you love Jesus you will obey what he says. If you don't love Jesus, you won't obey. It's that simple. "But I do love him," one might say. "He knows my heart," says another. But God says in Revelation 2:2 to the church in Ephesus "I know your deeds..." Again to the church in Thyatira (2:19), "I know your deeds..." To the church in Philadelphia (3:8), "I know your deeds..."Also, to the church in Laodicea (3:14), "I know your deeds..." Listen to what God says to the church in Sardis (3:3) "Remember, therefore, what you have received and heard; obey it, and repent."

To say that we can love Jesus without obeying Him is a lie. Obedience is the indicator of the love we have for God. So if we say we love Him, but our lifestyle is contrary to His teachings, we deceive ourselves. Look at what Jesus says in John 15:30-31.

"[The prince of this world] has no hold on me, but the world must learn that I love the Father and that I do exactly what my Father has commanded Me."

In other words, Jesus' crucifixion was drawing near. Neither the devil, nor the Pharisees, nor anyone (except the Father) had any hold on Jesus. Jesus wasn't controlled by fear of the devil or the Pharisees. They didn't hold any power over Jesus in the least. But even though it might seem to some that His crucifixion would mean He had been defeated by them, He did exactly what the Father had commanded. His obedience to the point of death on a cross revealed the love He had for his Father (as well as the love of the Father for us).

And it's not like Jesus' crucifixion made sense to the people. Jesus even explained things to His disciples and they didn't understand. The disciples knew He was the Messiah; they just didn't know or understand what He had come to do. Some thought he would overthrow the Roman Empire and establish an earthly kingdom, but Jesus said, "My kingdom is not of this world."

Despite that even his closest companions didn't understand that He had come to die as a ransom for many, He purposed to obey the Father and reveal the love He had for His Father. Obeying God is loving God. To disobey is to not love Him. Obedience to God doesn't need the approval of others. Others don't even have to understand why you're doing a certain thing; they don't need an explanation. They just need to know you're unwavering in your commitment to Jesus.

When it comes to obeying God, getting caught up in explaining things to people to make them understand will get you into trouble if you're looking for someone's approval. But don't let anyone have a hold on you. People need to see that those who love God must do exactly what He says, and nothing else.

What God says to the church in Sardis He says to us. "Remember, therefore, what you have received and heard; obey it, and repent." I am the guiltiest at times of needing others approval, or wanting them to understand why. But all there's left to do is obey, and walk in the freedom of loving Jesus by obeying Him.