Jesus came to earth to save mankind and show us God’s love. He offered His life as a sacrifice for our sins, so we could be redeemed.
Photo credit: Coolm36 (Creative Commons)
If anyone would ever request God a proof of His love, I am sure there couldn’t be a greater proof than sending His own Son to die for us. And what about us? Can we do something to show our love for God?
In fact, we can:
“If you love me, you will obey what I command.” (John 14:15)
This is love for God: to obey his commands. (1 John 5:3)
And this is love: that we walk in obedience to his commands. As you have heard from the beginning, his command is that you walk in love. (2 John 1:6)
Do you love God? Do you love Jesus? Then, according to Him, you will obey His commands. It’s that simple.
And this is not about proving our love so we are worthy of anything. We will never be worthy of His love. But when we show our love for Him, we are giving back something that He gave to us: true love.
He loved us first so we could love Him. We wouldn’t know love if we hadn’t known Him. And by loving Him and obeying His commands, we are able to have a relationship with Him.
Obedience is key to a relationship with God. Jesus showed us that too:
If you obey my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have obeyed my Father’s commands and remain in his love. (John 15:10)
Jesus showed His love for the Father by obeying Him. And He showed His love for us by giving His life as a sacrifice for our sins. And He asks the same of us: to love God and to give up our lives for Him, as a “living sacrifices” (see Romans 12:1). It’s not about dying, it’s about living for Him.
Jesus talked about love, but most of all He lived the true love, and He asks us to live His love too.
If we love Him, we obey Him. And if we obey Him, we have a relationship with Him unlike any relationship we’ve ever had or will ever have: Jesus will live on us!
Those who obey his commands live in him, and he in them. And this is how we know that he lives in us: We know it by the Spirit he gave us. (1 John 3:24)
A person may say that they love God. They may talk about it all they want, but Jesus left a simple way to identify the ones who really loves Him. The evidence is there for everyone to see, including ourselves. The evidence of love is obedience.
We know that we have come to know him if we obey his commands. The man who says, “I know him,” but does not do what he commands is a liar, and the truth is not in him. But if anyone obeys his word, God’s love is truly made complete in him. (1 John 2:3-5)
I agree. “The evidence of love is obedience.” In our present-day culture, it is very important that people have studied the Word and understand the challenges that are faced when it comes to standing up against the inconsistent godly lives. Sometimes I see posts that cause me to become wide-eyed and very concerned. Yes, God loves us and gave His Son to us through death, but it doesn’t mean all the “rules” went away or are significantly diminished. We are facing a scary world when it comes to setting spiritual boundaries to keep the sinful cultural acceptance slip in, b/c of “love” but not focused on “obedience.”
Sound intense? Oh, yes. See too much, too often. KNOW too much after years and years of watching our world change its heart/attitude towards godliness.
God loves us no matter what we do, but He expects obedience from us. There are a lot of people that are loved by God but they will face eternity in hell, because it’s not only about being loved by God, we need to love Him back, and that means obeying Him and living according to His will. Being loved by God doesn’t mean that we get a free pass, I agree with you. It’s sad that people sometimes get that confused…