“If you love me, you will keep my commandments” (Jo 14:15).
The particular construction of this conditional statement in the Greek is highly significant. It can better be translated: “If you keep on loving me, you will keep my commands”. Put differently, obedience is only possible where love persists. Our loyalty to Christ makes heeding His instructions easy or at least possible.
When we find excuses for not obeying God’s Word, we’re just betraying our love-poverty for the Lord. As a matter of fact, when you love someone, you want to please him or her–be it your teacher, friend or mother.
Lovers of God don’t view His orders with reluctance or a sense of coercion. They intrinsically want to do His will just because they love and trust Him. Enduring love enables obedience. That’s what happened to me when I heeded the call to full time ministry. It was no longer about gritting my teeth to surrender to God’s will. Rather, I came to a place where all I wanted was to please the “Lover of my soul”, whatever the price. I still do.
Pastor Josh