You would do it if you loved me

You would do it if you loved me

If anyone loves me [Jesus], he will obey my teaching. My father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him. John 14:23 NIV

What do we do when our way of life disagrees with the scripture? I'll tell you... we look for a way around the word of God. We start looking for loopholes in the scripture. We search for and find some type of homemade justification for our sin proclivities. You and I have heard and used these excuses before, but I will only mention a few: "God understands my heart." - "God would never ask me to change because he is a God of love." - And my personal favorite is, "I am good in my own eyes, and that is good enough." But the Bible tells us not to be wise in your own eyes; fear the Lord and shun evil (Proverbs 3:7).

Jesus said that, "If anyone loves me, he will obey my teachings." Ironically, love really is the determining factor as some so often say, but not exactly in the way they mean it. Our obedience to God is in direct proportion to how much love we have for him. Or in other words, "Only the believers obey, and only the obedient believe" - Bonhoeffer.

When God's word gives testimony against us, know and realize that this is normal. We are people filled with sin. The Word of God is supposed to speak against our ways. The Lords ways are not the same as ours (Isaiah 55:8). But the wise man or woman not only hears God's words, but obeys them in spite of their own preferences. God has never desired our religion or platitudes, but has always wanted our obedience and love.

Obedience is inexorably linked to love. I don't think you can lay claim to one without the other.