ChristMyLife.org - How are we to obey God?

What do you think of when you read these words of Christ? I would suggest our response to these words provide a very insightful window into the inner workings of our heart. Before you read any further, I would ask you to take a few moments and consider what you think these words mean. You might even take the time to write them down on a piece of paper.

Now, you may be wondering if I have some new theological insight into the meaning of these words or some profound truth which will change your life. No, I have nothing of the sort. These words of Christ simply mean what He intended them to say. The meaning is obvious and simple. The challenging part in understanding these words, as with all of scripture, has to do with the condition of our heart. As Jesus describes in the parable of the sower (Matthew 13:1-23), the response to the message is dependent on the condition of the soil (the heart). We must have "ears to hear" to understand the words of Christ. Sadly, our hearts are often clouded by many other things which prevent us from truly seeing and understanding what Christ is saying. I would caution you as well that if we do not have "ears to hear", we will not know it. That is the dangerous thing about this condition. We continue living life ignorant of the fact we are missing out on much of what Christ is really saying because we are deaf to what He is saying. I would challenge you to search your heart and listen carefully to the Lord because if we cannot clearly hear His voice, who or what are we following? I am not speaking of following some non-Christian faith or being deceived into following a cult, but I am speaking of we who would consider ourselves "good Christians".

I also want you to understand that neither this passage nor any other passage is special in giving us an insight into the workings of our hearts. All of God's truth, the Bible, has the same power to reveal our hearts. Our understanding of other passages like the fruit of the Spirit as described in Galatians 5:22-23 or chapter 13 of 1 Corinthians, which is described as the "love chapter", reveal the workings of our hearts in the same manner.

As you have looked at the response of your heart to Christ's words, "If you love Me, you will keep My commandments", would you say Christ speaks of something we must do? Is Jesus telling us something for which we have the responsibility to respond? What would you think if I asked you to consider this is a promise rather than something we must do? This is actually a very important distinction for if we see these words of Christ as placing some obligation or duty for us to act, then I would suggest to you that our hearts have been deceived and that our understanding of God's truth is clouded. If we read these words as a call to our obedience to Christ's commandments, then our hearts no doubt filter all of God's wonderful truth through the distorted view that scripture is largely a "manual for living" and that I must master the truth of the Bible in order to know how to live my life. This extremely popular Christian view looks at scripture largely as a call to action rather than seeing that scripture actually points us to Christ and that in Christ alone we have Life.

If Christ teaches that obedience flows naturally from one who loves Him, then it is important that we understand what it means love to Him. The meaning is simple and straightforward, but again it can be clouded by our hearts. One important point is that our love for Him is not based on our obedience to His commandments or anything we might do. The things we do flow out of a love relationship. In other words, you cannot really tell for certain that someone loves God because of what they do. The only one who really knows if you love Christ is Christ Himself.

What then does it mean to love Christ? The fullness of loving Him is certainly only known as it is revealed to us by the Holy Spirit, but we can begin to understand what it means as we look at human relationships. We are created in God's image so we know that our relationships with one another can have the imprint of our Creator. What are some things which characterize a healthy love relationship? When you love someone you enjoy being with them. It is a joy and a delight to spend time with them. You enjoy learning about them and just being with them. You like what they like and enjoy doing what pleases them. In like manner, these are elements which will characterize someone who loves Christ.

When I mention that spending time with the Lord would be part of a love relationship you might interpret this to be spending time in prayer. While that may be one element, with Christ it is actually all the time, not just some time of focused devotion. Christ invites us to "abide in Me" in John 15:5, which speaks of the "always with" element which characterizes a love relationship with Him. In other words, a love relationship with Christ is characterized by continuous fellowship with Him. This is the great thing about Christ. He is always there (Matthew 28:20) and we can walk with Him all the time.

Another important element of our love relationship with Christ is how it looks compared to our relationship with others: "Anyone who loves his father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; anyone who loves his son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me." (Matthew 10:37 NIV) Christ is simply worthy of our first and foremost love. We love Him more than anyone.

Some of you might find my emphasis on the love relationship leaves out our "obligation" to do what pleases God. You might think I am advocating that people can just spend their time alone "loving God" with no "obligation" to do anything for anyone. That cannot be true because Christ said that if you love Him, you will do what pleases Him. If you say you love God and yet aren't pleasing Him, then obviously you don't love Him.

I would suggest your only "obligation" is to love God. Everything else will fall into place as we love Him. If we see the truth of the wonder and love of Christ, we cannot help to respond with our love. We were created to love God. This is the "natural" thing for us to do. Sin and our sin nature would distract us from this simple truth. "Religion" would tell us that we need to "do things for the Lord", but Christ calls us to simply love Him. Please do not think I am saying we don't need to understand or look at anything else in scripture. I am saying that if we don't love Him, then there is little or no value in looking at any other scripture nor is there any value in our strivings to do what we think would please God in the strength of our flesh. If you do not love Christ, then you must stop and ask the hard questions as to why this is true in your life. Seek the Lord and let Him reveal to you how your heart has been deceived and misled. Allow Him to open your heart to see His love for you and to let your love for Him to grow and grow. Remember, love is the first element mentioned in the fruit of the spirit (Galatians 5:22-23). This love is a natural outgrowth of we who know Christ as it is simply part of the "fruit of the Spirit". Loving Christ is the "natural" response of a follower of Christ.

I would encourage you to consider Christ's call to love Him. Christ has called us to much more than just trying to please Him. It is much more than our efforts to "work for the Lord". It is good for the Lord's work to be done, but the Lord's work is only done "in love". Live in the freedom of Christ's love and allow your life to blossom to all that God intends for you as you grow in your love for Him.

For some of us our view of God as an authority figure might make it difficult for us to see the relationship with the Father characterized by love. Christ speaks to this when he says, "As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love." (John 15:9 NIV) The Father is just like Jesus, of course. Yes, He is our most Holy Lord, but He also loves us more than we can possibly imagine and we can live in that love, as Jesus describes, "If anyone loves me, 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)

Does it still concern you that I would say that the main thing for us to do is to love God? Do you see this as an abandonment of responsibility? Would you think that if all believers did this then nothing would be done for God's kingdom? Nothing could be further from the truth. Can't you see that if you put just a handful of people together who are madly in love with Jesus that they would turn their world up-side-down for Christ? We don't need grand plans invented by our "brightest minds" to reach the world for Christ. We simply need those whose hearts filled with love for Him. Devoted in love to Him, they will be filled with His fullness and delight in His purposes to be accomplished in this world.

I must acknowledge that I am indebted to several sources of influence as I grow in these things. One is the book, "The Shack" (http://theshackbook.com/). I think this book is a wonderful tool to open our eyes to the love relationship God desires for us to experience with Him. I know the book is controversial for some people, but if we read it with an eye to looking at how God loves us without focusing on some details which we may not agree with, God can use it to open our eyes to the wonder of His love.

Secondly, I have recently finished listening to an audio series by Wayne Jacobsen (http://www.lifestream.org/transition/transition.html). This series focuses on our relationship with the Father and emphasizes how only in a healthy, restored relationship with Him, can we know the life which God would have for His followers.

I should add that my view of our love for God as being of supreme importance is not something I have only begun to learn through these two influences. This has been my view for as long as I can remember (I say this not to boast of my own wisdom or insight, but to point out that this is not just some recent passing fancy or fad that I am following). Unfortunately, it has only been an intellectual understanding up to this point, which frankly means I am sorely lacking in my love of Christ. Praise God, He takes me where I'm at and moves me forward. All He asks of me is to grow in my love and trust of Him. As I trust Him more I see Him work in my heart and I learn to love Him more. I can't do more than this. I trust in His grace and His goodness.

February 2009

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