Jesus said, “If you love me, you will keep my commandments.” John
14:15.
Let us ask ourselves, do we indisputably love Jesus? Are we conscious of His
commandments? Do we want to maintain His commandments?
To answer the above three important questions, we must
first determine the meaning of the significant expressions
such as Love, Want, Keep and Commandments.
The bible tells us that love is greater than hope and
faith,
“So faith, hope, love abide, these three; but the
greatest of these is love.” 1 Corinthians 13:13.
From this, we can learn that we can project our true faith
and hope in our Lord Jesus Christ when we love Him. At
times our faith in Him may be out of fear, simply because
we know he is almighty. However, this does not please Jesus,
as he is the Lord of peace, mercy and comfort, as He said,
“ Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you; not as the world gives
do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.” John
14:27.
The writer of Romans states, “Therefore, since we
are justified by faith, we have peace with God through
our Lord Jesus Christ” Romans 5:1. When we understand
His friendly and kind character, we then love Him enough
to build our faith, trust and hope upon Him.
When we love someone, we devote to them unconditional
respect and honor. This then guides us to the fruits of
love as specified by St. Paul saying, “ Love is patient
and kind; love is not jealous or boastful..” 1 Corinthians
13.
When the true nature of love abides within us, towards
Christ, we then devout and voluntarily submits our entire
life and will to Him. This type of love, which is required
from us by Jesus, will irreversibly steer us towards wholly
pleasing Him in every aspect of our lives. For example – if
we commit to Jesus the type of love indicated by Paul,
we will quite easily bless those who curse us and pray
for those who abuse us, as commanded by Jesus, Luke 6:28.
Therefore, when we have attained the stage of submitting
authentic love to our Lord and Saviour, we will do our
utmost to maintain that relationship by offering to Him,
what He expects from us during the entire term of our life.
As so, it is imperative to keep His commandments.
We now have drawn ourselves to the conclusion that, when
we love Jesus, we want to and will keep His commandments.
To be precise, we will not throw away, forget and neglect
them. But we may ask – Why are His commandments so
beneficial to our lives? Why must we keep His commandments
(out of love)?
Let’s utilise our workplace as an example to answer
this question. When our Managers etc, advise us to perform
a specific task in a precise way, they are imposing us
by the knowledge and experience they posses within that
particular field. By keeping their commands, successful
monetary results will be achieved, hence beneficial for
both our employer and us.
Our Lord Jesus Christ is quite aware of the trials and
hardship we will endure in our lives, simply because he
experienced them personally. “Therefore he had to
be made like his brethren in every respect, so that he
might become a merciful and faithful high priest in the
service of God, to make expiation for the sins of the people.
For because he himself has suffered and been tempted, he
is able to help those who are tempted.”
Hebrews 2:17,18.
“For we have not a high priest who is unable to
sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect
has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us then
with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that
we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of
need.” Hebrews 4:15, 16.
When Jesus commands us to go to Him, “Come to me,
all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you
rest”
Matthew 11:28, He is fully aware of what we actually necessitate
in our lives.
When He commands us to love one another, “A new commandment
I give to you, that you love one another; even as I have
loved you, that you also love one another.” John
13:34, He knows that this is the only way we can experience
peace and harmony, while crushing Satan, who is at all
times working determinedly against the will of God. Therefore,
we can conclude that Christ has set His commandments through
experience and for our benefit.
The question we now must ask is – Do we really Love
Jesus? And if so, are we keeping His Commandments?
