“He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him”(John 14:21).
TEXT — John 14:19-25
Love has both an emotional and a rational factor. The media world more commonly portrays the brand of love driven by mere emotion or, worse still, unbridled animal passion. Sadly, many religious people seem to project the same erroneous idea of sheer sentimental love into their relationship with God. They reduce loving God to expressions of endearment during praise and worship.
It is true that God loves His creatures most tenderly and that He desires that they reciprocate by loving Him with heart, mind, soul and strength. Yet, Jesus’ words reveal , in plain language, that God’s perception of true love is far from the emotional overload, so celebrated by the world. He reminds us that the practical proof of our love for God is the fact of our obedience to His word. Beyond the expressions of affection, there is the yielding of the heart, the bending of the will and, the deliberate effort to please the Almighty God in all things. Love is costly and yet does not count costs; true love is eager to please; that is its acid test.
The Lord Jesus is most qualified to teach on this subject. He demonstrated the highest form of love when He emptied Himself of divinity and died in our place. Jesus kept to the heavenly Father’s redemptive agenda even when the going was tough in the Garden of Gethsemane. He, more than all, understood the costliness of genuine love. This contrasts very clearly with the love shown by people like Judas who are self-serving and hypocritical. He came as a friend to kiss the Lord; called Him Master yet betrayed Him to the murderous mob of haters.We must not base our love for God on knee-jerk emotions or vested interests and personal advantage.
If you cherish the Lord, then prove it by living for Him alone, giving implicit obedience to His word in little and great matters, valuing His friendship exclusively in public and private and, engaging in His service cheerfully. The risen Christ asked Simon Peter repeatedly, “lovest thou me?” until the import of the message sank in. As the songwriter puts it, “If you say you love the Saviour, In His word you’ll always live, if you say your sins are forgiven and gone, then, prove it by the life you live”.
Thought for the day
Love shines brighter in positive action than in the display of plumages.
Listed among “500 most powerful people on the planet” by the Foreign Policy magazine in 2013, Pastor (Dr.) William F. Kumuyi is the founder and General Superintendent of the Deeper Christian Life Ministry (DCLM) headquartered in Lagos, Nigeria. DCLM started in 1973 as a 15-member Bible study group right in Kumuyi’s apartment at University of Lagos where he was a lecturer. His revolutionary Bible teaching on personal holiness and commitment to evangelism soon gained so much traction and resulted in a widespread revival.
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