God expresses His love in a special way by giving us His
commandments.
God not only loves,
He is love ( 1 John 4:16). As He is love He cannot but express and show His
love towards mankind, who is His creation. He does this in a number of ways,
one of which is that His gave us His commandments so that we can live in
accordance with His will and in harmony with one another.
The commandments are not an expression of power over mankind
or to place them in some kind of restricted existence. They are to guide us to
"love from a pure heart"
( 1 Timothy 1:5). The love of God has the power to change us
and our lives in a profound manner. For us this love is more than a feeling or
sensation, it is a force that gives us essential direction that leads to
obedience and a life in God.
Connected to Christ
Jesus begins His dialogue with the disciples by explaining
the absolute necessity of fellowship, connection, and oneness with Him and the
Father.He uses the example of the vine and the branches to drive home His point
( John 15:1-8). He then reinforces His relationship with
them by saying, "As the Father
loved Me, l also have loved you" (
verse 9). This is remarkable and wonderful. The Father loved Him. He is the
beloved Son. However, that Jesus should love them with the same powerful love
is hard to grasp. After all, they are not anything like the Son of God. God
however, so loved the world that He gave His only begotten son ( John 3:16).
It is with this same love that Jesus Christ loves the
disciples. He advises His disciples to remain in His love. Normally one would
think that to remain in such a wonderful, deep love would be simple. We see
that it is not quite that easy and straight forward. For this love carries with
it a responsibility. Jesus gives the key when He says , "If you keep My commandments, you will
abide in My love." If you really want to remain in this love and allow it
to have it's desired effect, you must keep His commandments. Not only the Ten
Commandments of the Old Testament, but also the new commandments He gave: that
we love one another as He loves us
blogpay
Total Comments: 0