Love That Shows

“If you love me, then you will keep my commandments.” –Jesus

Jesus was very clear in what He expected from His followers. He knew that they would have trouble knowing if they loved Him or not. If most of us are honest, I am sure there are times that we would wonder if we really are following Jesus the way we ought to. Truth of the matter is that it’s hard to know when we’re “doing it right”.

So Jesus tried to make it very plain for us to follow. He said, “If you love me, then you will do what I tell you to do.” Now that is a paraphrase of the words of Scripture, but it means the same thing. An if/then statement says that if the requirements of the “if” side of the equation are met, then the outcomes stated in the “then” statement will also be true.

Here’s an example: “If I step off the edge of a 100 story building, then I will fall to my death.” So what this is saying is that if one steps off a tall enough building (in this case, 100 stories), then they are going to die. Hopefully that clears it up for us enough to understand what Jesus is trying to tell us, His disciples, here.

He is simply saying that if we truly love Him, not just saying that we do, then we will live that out in obeying His commands. This is how we show Jesus we love Him. When we obey, we demonstrate our love for Him.

So what does that mean for us today? I hope that it is obvious, but just in case it isn’t, let me help you with it…demonstrate your love for God today in the way you obey His commands. Is God asking you to forgive? Then forgive! Is God asking you to give up your comforts to go talk to a neighbor who is hurting? Do it! Is God asking you to give up your job and take another one with less hours so that you can spend more time at home with your family? Don’t wait! Do it!

When we obey God, we demonstrate our love for Him…and in so doing, demonstrate to the world around us how much He is Lord of our lives!

Think about that today! And God bless you!