Tidings for Tuesday
For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments, and His commandments are not grievous. 1 John 5:3
John declares that God’s commandments are not grievous. We agree with that. But do we really believe it? If so, why do we disobey those commandments so often? It must be that we find His commandments grievous in some way. There are several reasons why we might find those commandments grievous.
First, obeying God’s commandments might mean I would have to forsake that particular little sin that I love so much. The world is filled with things that appeals to our fleshly desires. And even Moses admitted that sin has its pleasures, even if only for a season (Hebrews 11:25). And if we don’t want to give up those pleasures, the commandments that we be pure and holy as the children of God will seem burdensome. But Jesus declared that His yoke is easy and His burden is light (Matthew 11:30). We will discover the truth of those words if we forsake the sin that prevents us from obeying God’s commandments.
Secondly, we might feel that we lack the will power to keep God’s commandments. And naturally speaking, we would be right. We certainly had no power to stop sinning or to correct our destructive behaviour before we were saved. But we are not nature’s children any longer. We are the children of God, and He has imparted His Holy Spirit to us, to grant us the power and direction to overcome the world and its influence on us. This is the message of the benediction in the book of Hebrews: ‘Now the God of peace, that brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great Shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant, make you perfect in every good work to do His will, working in you that which is wellpleasing in His sight, through Jesus Christ; to Whom be glory for ever and ever’ (Hebrews 13:20,21).
A third reason (or excuse) for failing to obey God’s commandments is a doubt concerning God’s motives. Do we question whether He truly cares for us and that He longs for all that is the very best for us? Do we feel that God is not interested in our happiness but wants only our unswerving obedience to stern demands? If so, then we deeply misjudge our heavenly Father. The psalmist judged God’s motives aright when he declared ‘Thou wilt shew me the path of life: in Thy presence is fulness of joy; at Thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore’ (Psalm 16:11). David was not singing about what we will experience in Heaven; he was singing about the joy that obedience to God brings in our everyday life. Today.
Let us keep His commandments. Let us learn that they are not grievous. – Jim MacIntosh