Forward In Love - Sunday, January 27

“This is love for God: to obey his commands. And his commands are not burdensome”
1 John 5:3

How do we love God? How does God define love? There is one way and only one way to prove love; it is obedience. Why does God define love in terms of our obedience? It is because obedience is the closest form we can have to His love. His love can only be comprehended by His actions. His love cannot be understood abstractly in theory or by a variety of definitions. It is in God’s actions in the death of His Son that we can even begin to understand the depth of His love.
Unless love acts, it is not love. If God had done nothing to impact the state of humanity, we would have proclaimed him a hypocrite. How could someone say they love and do nothing? God’s love for us must take on action; our love for him must take on action. This is why love is obedience.
Action is a big deal to God, because it is a big deal to us. He knew there was no other way that we could better understand that He loves us than to show us. Therefore, there is no better way for us to love God than to show Him. The way we do that is to obey God.
If you are a parent, you know the unique joy that you feel when your children simply do what you ask them to do with a good attitude. It almost makes you feel… well, loved. Somehow, God must feel this way.
“To obey is better than sacrifice” 1 Samuel 15:22 To obey God is better than telling Him you are sorry. Keep moving forward in love!