If I had to pick a gospel that I prefer, it would have to be the gospel of John. I love how John focuses on the motivation behind things. That motivation is always the four lettered word LOVE.
In his gospel, John quotes Jesus in red letters when he says John 14:15 NIV, "If you love me, you will obey what I command.”
It has been said that commandments given by God serve two purposes: to provide and to protect us. It is similar to a fence that holds cattle. When the cattle stay within the parameters of the fence, the cattle can be kept safe (protected) and fed (provided for). Life can exist outside of the fence, but it is risky. Cattle could be exposed to wild animals and not have the shelter of the barn.
In 2 John 1:4-6 NIV, he writes:
“It has given me great joy to find some of your children walking in the truth, just as the Father commanded us. {5} And now, dear lady, I am not writing you a new command but one we have had from the beginning. I ask that we love one another. {6} And this is love: that we walk in obedience to his commands. As you have heard from the beginning, his command is that you walk in love.
We have all heard about cattle that end up outside of the pin by eating a tuft of grace here and a tuft of grass there and then a tuft of grass that is beside a hole in the fence which leads to a tuft of grass that is outside the fence.
So how do you stay within the fence where God can provide and protect you? Or how do you obey the commands. It all goes back to John’s motivator – LOVE.
Got LOVE? Need more LOVE? Read on and pray for more LOVE as you ask God what is NEXT for you.
Brad Childers
May 17
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