To Love Is to Obey

Now by this we know that we know Him, if we keep His commandments.
1 John 2:3

Every parent experiences the disconnect between a child’s words when being put to bed at night—“I love you, Mommy”—and a willful act of disobedience the next morning. That disconnect between profession and practice illustrates the intimate connection between love and devotion (or obedience).

To be sure, a child is immature and not to be held to adult standards of understanding and practice. But the illustration serves its purpose in a way that is instructive for us as adults. When we say we love God but do not obey His commands and desires, we make ourselves out to be liars (1 John 2:4). “But whoever keeps His word, truly the love of God is perfected in him” (1 John 2:5). So obedience to God is a kind of barometer, a measure, of our love for God. Just as small children learn to combine love and obedience in their relationship with their parents, so we grow in the same understanding in our relationship with God. The relationship between love (faith) and obedience (good works) is a key theme in the letter written by James (James 2:14-26).

Give thought today as to how your obedience to God reflects your profession of love for God.