Love and Obedience

As an older Christian, I often think about how life in the past affects my life in the present. Thoughts come to mind of what I- & others- have grappled with, such as disappointment, hurt & anger. Especially as a young Christian- around 18 years of age- I & others struggled with the temptation of the “lazy” Christian life. This was falsely thinking that “I’m saved by grace, so I don’t need to be serious about what I think, say & do.”

As we journey through 1 John in our sermon series, I am being strongly convicted about what it means to keep living a victorious Christian life. Chapter 5, emphasises several actions that characterise a strong Christian.

Verse 1a- BELIEF that Jesus is the Christ who comes from God the Father.

Verse 1b- LOVE for God the Son and God the Father.

Verse 2a- LOVE for the children of God- for one another!

Verse 2b- OBEDIENCE to God expressing our love for Him.

Love for God is expressed in obedience to God. Love for others is expressed in obeying God in our relationships with other Christians- and with our neighbours. 

It is good to prayerfully reflect on the two great commandments of loving God & loving others. It is also good to reflect on what the Bible says about love expressed in obedience to God, such as The Ten Commandments (Deuteronomy 5) and The Sermon on the Mount (Matt 5-7). On the global scale, every nation on earth that has taken the Bible seriously has these commands as foundational to its ethics and legal principles. 

On the personal scale, every individual Christian on earth that takes the Bible seriously has these commands as foundational. Moved & motivated by the Holy Spirit, every authentic Christian will love God the Father, God the Son, our fellow church members, and those in our wider mission field of “village, valley & region”

Steve Bligh

Our Faith in Jesus will be seen in our Love for God and one another and our obedience to God, not because we have to, but because we want to.

A healthy faith will be seen in joyful obedience!

On the other hand, disobedience to God’s will is a tragedy—but so is reluctant, grudging obedience. God does not want us to disobey Him, but neither does He want us to obey out of fear or necessity. Jonah was a case in point!

What Paul wrote about giving also applies to living: “not grudgingly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver” (2 Cor. 9:7)

What is the secret of joyful obedience? It is to recognize that obedience is a family matter. We are serving a loving Father and helping our brothers and sisters in Christ.

We have been born of God, so we love God, and we love God’s children.

And we demonstrate this love by keeping God’s commandments joyfully.

Tony Galea