Do You Love Me?
If you love me, you will keep my commandments.” (John 14:15)
As I look at God’s Word I see so much evidence of His love. Sometimes it’s hard for me to understand how Christians can question it, though I know they will – even as I sometimes do. It’s easy to wonder where that love of God is when we’re in a difficult place.
God’s love for us is evident in spite of our sin and our rebellion. If we look closely at what God has said and done, we see many signs of His love. In fact, it’s even better than that, 1 John 4:8 says that God IS love.
Today what I’m wondering about is what does He see when He looks at you and me. Is our love for Him as obvious as His love for us? Jesus said “If you love me, you will keep my commandments.” (John 14:15) Are you and I keeping His commandments?
I am afraid that when we look at His commandments we think mostly about murder, adultery, and stealing and we check off the list of things we aren’t doing and haven’t done. I know I’m not considering God’s first command as I should.
In Matthew 22 Jesus said, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment.” (Matthew 22:37-38)
When we love a person we consider them in our plans. When we are in a serious love relationship, especially that of husband and wife, we go to that person first when making decisions or looking for help. Most of us really don’t like it when our husbands go to someone else for advice or counsel before coming to us. We want to be first.
Isn’t that exactly what God wants from us? Too often when we have a big decision to make or we are having a problem with a brother or sister in the Lord, we go right to our girl friends or some other human source of help. God left us His word. He told us to pray without ceasing. If we love and trust Him, why don’t we go to Him first?
I think that we can go to each other for Biblical counsel — it’s part of God’s provision for His people. Sometimes we may not see exactly where to go in the Bible or we are too emotionally upset to think clearly. In those times wise counsel is good and helpful.
Often we end up looking to others, to food, to alcohol, or secular counselors or books in our times of pain and need. Even though we’ve turned to these things in the past and know that they will not remove us from our pain or help our situation, (in fact, they often just make things worse) we still go there first. Jesus offers to those who love Him, “Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” (Matthew 11:28).
In His love for us God has given us the promise of His steadfast love. Then He showed this love by providing the ultimate sacrifice for our sins so we could be forgiven. He has left us His Word that will guide and counsel us as we have need. He is immutable, we can trust what He says today to be true tomorrow. And, in His love for us, He is accessible. He is near and He will hear us when we turn to Him rather than to others or worldly solutions.
What He asks is that our love for Him be demonstrated by our obedience to His commands. The first and greatest of which has not changed.
You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. Matthew 22:37