Read John 14:15-21
“If ye love me, keep my commandments” (v. 15).
I like to poke my youngest nephew in the tummy — or perform some other silly act — just to get him to laugh. I like to spend time with my parents because they mean a lot to me. Sometimes I will get a glass of water or run an errand for my husband because I love him.
When we truly love our family, we like to do things for them. Is this the cost of love? Perhaps. If I had never married, I would have less laundry to do each week. But marriage to my husband is definitely worth the work!
Similarly, obedience to God, when it stems from our love for Him, becomes less of a chore. We want to please Him because we love Him.
First John 2:5 could be paraphrased this way: Everyone who obeys God’s Word is showing how much they love God. Love is the soil, and obedience is the sweet-smelling flower.
If I ever begin to feel like obedience to God is too hard, I am focused on the wrong things. When I think of what love for us cost God — the horrible death of His only Son — I realize that any price I have to pay is never too much. (Ashlee Englund)
Loving God can never really cost too much.
This devotional is the Thursday, September 3, 2015 entry of Opening the Word.
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