Thursday, September 23, 2021
The Best Motivation
“If you love me, obey my commandments” (John 14:15 NLT).
Some people say they love the Lord, but then they deliberately disobey God. They say they love Jesus, but then they do things like get drunk or slander another person or tell a flat-out lie about someone.
Yet Jesus said, “If you love me, obey my commandments” (John 14:15 NLT).
In contrast, if we don’t obey Jesus’s commandments, then do we really love Him? If we say that we love Him and knowingly do things that God’s Word says we shouldn’t, then do we really love Him?
In the Old Testament, God’s law contained a lot of don’ts: “You must not have any other god but me. You must not make for yourself an idol of any kind . . . . You must not misuse the name of the Lord your God. . . . You must not murder. You must not commit adultery. You must not steal. You must not testify falsely against your neighbor. You must not covet . . .” (Exodus 20:3-4, 7, 13-17 NLT).
But it’s different in the New Testament, because now God has written those commandments in our hearts, and we obey them out of love. We obey them because we want to, not because we have to.
If you really love God with all your heart, soul, and mind, then you won’t want to do things that displease Him.
For instance, I love my wife, so I will be faithful to her. I love her, so I will not lie to her. I’m not motivated by fear of what will happen if I do the wrong thing. Rather, it’s my love for her that motivates me to do the right thing.
If you really love someone, then you’ll want to please them. And if you really love Jesus, then you will keep His commandments.
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