"If you love Me, keep my commandments." John 14:15
For some people, it seems out of character to hear the Lord
Jesus talk about commandments. Others start counting up the commands in order
to merit a blessing.
When we acknowledge that this is the voice of the Lord Jesus Christ , the Son of God, this is
quite appropriate that He command. He who could command the dead (Lazarus) to
arise, not only has the moral right to command the living, but in keeping with
His character He must needs command, otherwise we are left to wander in darkness.
The words of His mouth, directly and through His apostles, are the light in our
spirits to worship, light in our souls to love and light upon the pathway of
life that we may follow the great shepherd of our souls.
The authority of our commander remains complete and although
his commands are not inscribed in stone, His commands are not less important.
Rather He often framed His commands within the moral power of example. This is
exemplified in John 13 – His command to wash one another’s feet, follows him actually
doing it Himself. The command to love one another, is qualified by “as I have loved you”.
Perhaps the most significant command given for the crowds who
listened to Him was : “That ye believe on the one whom God has sent.” ( John 6).
Obeying this command is the beginning of a relationship that takes all His
commands seriously. The one who is born of God
obeys God, not out of compulsion, but because of love within the
relationship. The apostle John in his letter writes of commands, but emphasises
that the obedience of love cast out fear. The obedience of love welds the
relationship as children of God and develops the maturity as sons of God.
I implore my readers to be sure your hope for eternity is not
resting upon self effort, or obedience to commandments ( Law principle). But to
let your hope for a place in the Father’s house be assured by your faith in a person.
He was once crucified, but having risen from the dead, He lives with ultimate authority,
in heaven and on earth. Let us bow low at His feet, and give Him the allegiance
and submission He deserves. Well might He say “If you love me, keep my
commandments”.
If you find obedience to His commands distasteful, I suggest you
look deeply for the cause – do you know Him, do you love Him?
John Mckee
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