Love is proven by obedience: Have you ever wondered why some people who come to know Jesus as their Savior experience dramatic life change, while others seem to continually fall back into their old lifestyle? I’ve been pondering that recently as I’ve watched some people soar to entirely new lives, while others have repeatedly falling back into their old destructive lifestyles.
Jesus addressed that very subject right before He was arrested and killed. That means He must have considered it pretty important, knowing that He was about to die and was giving His final instructions.
Jesus said that our obedience is directly related to our love. He could not have been more straightforward. If we love Him we will obey His commands, and if we aren’t obeying His commands it’s because we don’t love love. Pretty clear.
“If you love Me, you will keep My commandments.” John 14:15
“He who has My commandments and keeps them is the one who loves Me;” John 14:21
”If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our abode with him.” John 14:23
“He who does not love Me does not keep My words;” John 14:24
Those who love Jesus experience a dramatic life change because they obey His commands, but those who do not love Jesus do not obey His commands and experience that life change. Obedience to Jesus is directly linked to one’s love for Jesus.
Answers to our prayers are based on our love for Jesus: We also see that answers to our prayers are based on our obedience to Jesus. If we live life for the purpose of bringing glory to Jesus then God answers our prayers, but if we are living our lives for our own personal gratification then we are wasting our time asking for more stuff that will distract us even more from what God put us here to accomplish.
“Whatever you ask in My name, that will I do, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son.” John 14:13
“If you ask Me anything in My name, I will do it.” John 14:14
“If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.” John 15:7
“If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love; just as I have kept My Father's commandments and abide in His love.” John 15:10
Jesus promised to answer our prayers if we live for His purposes in the same way that He lived for His Father’s purposes.
Being fruitful is based on our love for Jesus: God’s plan is for us to bring glory to His name by spreading His great message of faith, hope, and love to all mankind. Jesus plainly says we can’t do that on our own. He tells us that we must have His power in our lives if we are to be successful.
“Truly, truly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do, he will do also; and greater works than these he will do; because I go to the Father.” John 14:12
“Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself unless it abides in the vine, so neither can you unless you abide in Me.” John 15:4
“I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing.” John 15:5
“My Father is glorified by this, that you bear much fruit, and so prove to be My disciples.” John 15:8
So not only are answers to our prayers dependent on our obedience to Jesus, but our ability to do anything worthwhile for God is also directly proportional to our loving Jesus and obeying His commands.
Living in joy is based on our love for Jesus: And if we are going to enjoy life, meaning that we really live a life that’s worth living, then that too is tied to our love and obedience to Jesus.
“These things I have spoken to you so that My joy may be in you, and that your joy may be made full.” John 15:11
There is no other way to have a successful life, to live out that dream in our hearts, to experience the thrill of doing what God designed us to do. Only God can make the dreams in our heart come true, and it only happens when we love Jesus, obey Jesus, and are tied to Him so that His purposes become our purposes.
Example of the greatest love: By this time I hope you’re asking how you can really love Jesus. Jesus gave the answer to that too. If you and I want to truly understand great love then we need to understand what Jesus did.
“Greater love has no one than this, that one lay down his life for his friends.” John 15:12-13
Wow! No wonder Jesus said that the greatest commandment is to love God with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength. It’s when we learn to love God with all our being that we obey Jesus, His power is made real in our lives, our prayers are answered, and we experience the joy that comes from doing what God designed us to do.
Do you really want to love Jesus?
If you do then invest ten minutes every day for the next thirty days to read the gospel accounts of the arrest and crucifixion of Jesus. In your mind walk through what Jesus went through, and ponder so that you begin to understand what Jesus went through just for you. Ask God to help you really understand His love and what Jesus went through just so that you could have a relationship with Him.
Note: All scripture passages are taken from the 1995 update of the New American Standard Bible.
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