“If you obey my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have obeyed my Father’s commands and remain in his love.”
Thoughts on Today’s Verse…
Love is much more than just a feeling. Love is action. Jesus told us as disciples, believers who seek to genuinely follow our LORD and Savior, that the action that most shows our love for Jesus is for us to be obedient to his words, his will, and his example, and to love each other. The foolish person is not just the one who disbelieves in God (Psalm 53:1), but also the one who knows Jesus’ words and maybe even claims to believe in Jesus, but doesn’t obey them (Matthew 7:21-23, 26-27). Let’s choose to be different, to be true disciples, to live our lives by abiding in the love of Jesus and by obeying what our Lord says, motivated by our love for him and for others (Matthew 22:36-40).
My Prayer…
Father, thank you for showing your love by sending Jesus, who faithfully lived out your will. Thank you, LORD Jesus, for showing us how to love our Father by obeying his will and honoring his words. Thank you, also, LORD Jesus, for your teaching and living as an example for us to follow so we can know how to honor God. I choose to live in conscious obedience to the Father’s will – just as you did, LORD Jesus – and I seek to follow your example and obey your teachings. Please receive my thoughts, words, and actions as my offering of loving praise to you. I pledge this obedience under the authority and in covenant with my Savior, Jesus of Nazareth, my LORD and Messiah. Amen.
All scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION. © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House.
