Week 24, Day 4: Loving God
Today’s Reading: 2 John 1:1-13; 3 John 1:1-14
Some thoughts from yesterday’s reading…
It is not uncommon for people today to make the claim that they love God. In fact, the vast majority of people (at least in the United States) would probably claim that they love God. But, the problem lies in the expression of that “love.” John tells us what is necessary to show a love for God. In 1 John 5:1-3, John examines the need for us to not only love God, but to love one another. Remember, in our last post, we saw the need to love our brethren, and the consequences of hating our brethren. Interestingly enough, John combines a love for our brethren with a love for God, telling us that both are expressed in the same way: by being obedient to the commands of God. This is where things get very troublesome for many people in the religious world. They want to claim a love for God, but they don’t want to do anything to show that love. How can a person love God and then not abide by His instructions, or commands? And yet, most of the religious world balks at the idea of being obedient to God’s will. They will do things, and claim that they are done “in the name of Jesus”, but they will not be the actions or activities that Jesus has asked us to do. Showing our love for Him is very easy: simply be obedient to all that He has required.
Perhaps we can draw a parallel between this and a fleshly relationship to help us to understand this concept more clearly. If a husband continually claims to love his wife, but refuses to do the things she asks him to do, he shows that his love is in word only, and not in deed. This is what most people are like when it comes to their love for God. But, we need to be the type of people who love not in word only, but also in deed (1 John 3:18). We need to do what God has commanded. We shouldn’t be looking for excuses as to why His commands do not apply to us. We should not be trying to dismiss any “works” out of hand simply because we have a misguided idea about “earning salvation”. We can never earn our salvation, and yet that does not excuse us from being obedient to all of the commands of God!
So, we leave you with the question: do you love God? The only way that you can express that love is to be obedient to His commands, and they are not burdensome (1 John 5:3).
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One Comment »
Stephanie said :
June 27, 2009 at 10:28 am
Matthew 11:30 For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.