Do you love Me?

“If you love me, you will keep my commandments.” John 14:15

I still remember our first year of marriage. Cathy and I were both 20 years old and “in love.” I could not wait till both of us could live in the same apartment. When we returned from our honeymoon and moved in together,    I remember telling Cathy how weird it was that we were married and could live in the same place together. Like most couples, that first year was a period of adjusting     to another person sharing the same space. I couldn’t    understand the big deal of leaving the toilet seat up       or why putting the cap back on the toothpaste was      essential. But, for the life of me, I couldn’t understand why Cathy insisted that I pick up my clothes and put them in the hamper. Even after I explained I would pick them up when we went to the laundry mat, she still insisted I was a slob.

Slowly ( if you ask Cathy very, very, slowly), I started to   do those things that made her happy. Now I will admit after 44 years of marriage, I still fall short in some areas (but never the toilet seat). Over the years of marriage, I discovered that if I genuinely love my wife, I will willingly submit to her request. Happy wife, happy life.

When I first became a believer in Jesus Christ, I must    admit that I didn’t fully understand what it meant to make Jesus Savior and Lord of my life. As I matured in  my faith, I asked myself how can I be sure that I loved  Jesus. So, I opened up the Word and discovered Jesus Himself gave me the answer, “If you love me, you will keep my commandments.”  I could almost hear Him say, “Mark, if you love me, why don’t you obey me?”  Just as I show my love for my wife by doing what pleases her, God commands me to show my love for Him by keeping His commands.

John Macarthur writes the following in his commentary on John 14:15:

Those commandments include more than the ones He gave in the immediate context. They encompass His entire revelation of the Father’s will. Obedience   is a hallmark of genuine saving faith and love for  God. Those who are truly saved, by grace alone, will invariably respond with a life of submission and     service. With their hearts regenerated and their minds renewed, genuine Christians cannot help      but outwardly reflect who they are on the inside—new creatures in Christ (2 Cor. 5:17).Throughout His ministry, Jesus repeatedly emphasized the obedience that characterizes all who savingly believe. “Why do you call Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ ” Jesus demanded, “and do not do what I say?” (Luke 6:46). The one who “does not obey the Son will not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him” (John 3:36). Those “who are     selfishly ambitious and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, [will face God’s] wrath and indignation” (Rom. 2:8). It was Paul’s privilege through God’s grace “to bring about the obedience of faith among all the Gentiles for His name’s sake” (Rom. 1:5; cf. 15:18; 16:26; Acts 6:7). At His      second coming Jesus will “[deal] out retribution to those who do not know God and to those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus” (2 Thess. 1:8). To “all those who obey Him [Jesus is] the source of eternal salvation” (Heb. 5:9). The elect were chosen “to obey Jesus Christ” (1 Peter 1:2), while the unregenerate are those who “do not obey the gospel of God” (1 Peter 4:17).

How do you answer the question, “do you love Jesus”?

Your shepherd,

Pastor Mark