If you love me, you will keep my commandments.

John 14:15 – Scripture of the Day (March 26, 2014)

It can’t be made any plainer than that, can it?

In just one sentence, Jesus cuts through all the duplicity and hypocrisy we are capable of and gets right down to the heart of the matter.

“If you love me, you will keep my commandments.”

How true, how true…

Think of all the ways we SAY we love Jesus.  When asked, we will say we love him.  We go to church.  We own a Bible.  We pray before meals and before bedtime.  When compared to a murderer or drug dealer, our own morality shines brightly.  We love our spouses and children.

And yet…

Think of the sin in our lives, specifically our “pet” sins.  Not the ones we commit in the heat of the moment out of weakness and then repent of.  No, I’m talking about the ones we stubbornly hold on to.  The ones for which we make excuses.  The ones we justify.  The ones about which we tell ourselves, “God won’t condemn me to hell for THAT,” or, “God wants me to be happy,” or, “God OWES me this for all that I’ve done for him!”

Now think of the responsibilities God has laid out for us in the Bible which we’ve heard preached from the pulpit time and again, and yet we just never seem to find enough time to work on them.  You know, commands like bringing the gospel to the lost everywhere.  Worshiping from the heart while we’re at church.  Feeding the hungry, giving water to the thirsty, clothing the naked, visiting the sick and bereaved.  You remember them?  Those duties given to all Christians which we tend to put on the backburner or pay the preacher to do for us?  The acts of love and kindness which we expect done to us but never seem to find enough time to do for others?

Now, think of what Jesus said here again.

“If you love me, you will keep my commandments.”

Now let’s think of how we SHOW that we love Jesus.  In EVERY part of our lives.

If we truly love Jesus, our “pet” sins will no longer be our pets.  Rather, we will agonize over them and work hard to repent of them (2 Cor. 7:9-11).  Every single one of them.  No more excuses.  No more justifications.  No more selfishness.  No more pride.  If we really love Jesus, then they’re gone.  No matter how long it takes, we will overcome them with the grace and help of God.

If we truly love Jesus, we will love the souls of the lost so much that talking to them about the gospel is more important to us than talking to them about sports or the weather.  “Going to church” will mean more than sitting in a pew; rather, we will be humbled, honored, and excited to worship our God with every prayer and every song.  No Bible sermon or class will be boring or too long, because it’s a message from our Lord!  We will be looking for hungry, thirsty, naked, homeless people to help, and we will help them with gladness in our hearts…and share the gospel with them while we’re at it.  We will call up the preacher and ask if we can go with him to visit people at the hospital or in their sickbeds, and while we’re at it, we will ask him to help us in our own Bible studies with our co-worker/friend/family member/neighbor who is lost.

Why will we do this?  Because love – true love – is all about actions, much more than it is about words.

John knew it.  That’s why he wrote, “Little children, let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth” (1 John 3:18).

Jesus knew it.  That’s why he said, “Why do you call me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ and not do what I tell you?” (Luke 6:46)

And,

“If you love me, you will keep my commandments.”