For me, this devotion is one of the clearest, if not the clearest and most meaningful devotions thur far. Its beauty is in its simplicity. "If you love Christ you will keep His commandments" and as a result Christ and the Father will reciprocate "by loving you and Christ will manifest Himself in you." The results of that love relationship have enormous earthly and eternal benefits for the believer.
Obedience to God and Christ doesn't come from the head but flows directly from our hearts. Obedience is something we have to work at all the time. It's easy to obey in some cases, i.e., thou shall not kill, commit adultery, steal, or serve false gods. But obedience goes far beyond those obvious things to loving your neighbor as yourself, reading the Word daily, having a consistent prayer life, serving others unselfishly, controlling your tongue, keeping your thought life pure and wholesome, and giving of your time, talents and possessions as God has blessed you.
If you find yourself failing in any one of those or other areas of life, it's an indication of the need to return to your first love, Christ Jesus. Obedience to him is the surest sign of our love for Him and constant obedience requires constant and conscious attention.
Bob Smith
Elder
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment