Love and Obedience
“As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love. 10 If you keep my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commands and remain in his love.” John 15:9-10
According to Jesus, obedience flows out of love. His teaching makes perfect sense when you stop to think about it. What do you want to do for the people you love? You want to please them. You want to bring them delight. You want to do the things that bring them joy. No one has ever done a better job of modeling love and obedience than Jesus. And no one has ever paid a higher price to do so than Him.
God showed us what love was. He defined love in 1 John 4:10: This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. 1 John 4:10 is a restatement of John 3:16: For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. God loved the world so much that He gave the very best gift He had, His one and only Son Jesus Christ. God sent His Son to earth so our debt could be paid in full. The gift is there for everyone, but only those who receive Jesus as their Lord and Savior will lay hold of the gift. God gave the gift, but it was up to Jesus to provide the atoning sacrifice.
Jesus loved His Father, and more than anything, He wanted to please Him. He wanted to carry out His Father’s plan in full because He knew our salvation depended on it. Jesus went to the cross with His eyes wide open. He wasn’t surprised by a single thing that happened to Him on the way to the cross or on the cross. He knew what would happen because it had all been prophesied in scripture.
Isaiah 52:14 (NLT) says: But many were amazed when they saw him. His face was so disfigured he seemed hardly human, and from his appearance, one would scarcely know he was a man. Jesus knew exactly what kind of torture, agony, humiliation, and scorn He would face on the road to Calvary. He knew the suffering would be intense and the pain would be next to unbearable, but He loved His Father and He loved us more than He loved life itself.
Some people think Jesus was forced to go to the cross. John 10:17-18 tells us a different story. Jesus said, “The reason my Father loves me is that I lay down my life—only to take it up again. 18 No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down and authority to take it up again. This command I received from my Father.” Jesus knew what the cross would cost Him, but more than that, He trusted in what His Father told Him. He believed that He would be raised to new life on the third day, so He was willing to endure everything that came before it. His love for His Father and His love for us demanded Him to obey God’s plan in full.
Have you met the One who loves us more than life itself? Have you met the One who died so we could live? This is the story of Good Friday and Easter in a nutshell. Have you received the gift that will allow you to live with Jesus for all eternity? I pray you have.
Wishing you a blessed Lenten season.
Love in Christ,
Pastor Dave