Meditation for Monday
If ye keep My commandments, ye shall abide in My love, even as I have kept My Father’s commandments, and abide in His love. John 15:10
Although it doesn’t say what they think it does, this verse is a favourite of those who claim Christians can lose their salvation. If it were not for the vast body of Scripture that teaches otherwise, they might have a case. But our text is not talking about our salvation, or whether we are Christians at all. It is within the context of the Lord Jesus’ discourse on discipleship. He is speaking to those He desires to see become all that they should in their Christian experience. As He speaks to us, we can see that our obedience to His commandments has a great deal to do with our appreciation of His love for us.
In a chicken-and-egg discussion, we can ask which comes first, the obedience or the love? Like the chicken-and-egg situation, this is easy to answer. We are and always have been objects of the eternal love of God. And as believers, we are special objects of His love, as His children. We have entered into the special sphere of love that envelops all those who have trusted Christ, a love that will sustain and thrill us forever. But there is a condition to our appreciation of that love. Just as the brightness of the sunshine is most enjoyed by those who keep themselves in its rays, so the glorious wonders of our Saviour’s love for us is most appreciated by those who keep themselves within His will. Doing His commandments is the proof of our appreciation of His love. It is also the way to understand and enjoy His love for us all the more. The more we love Him, the more obedient we will be. The more obedient we are, the more we appreciate His love.
A couple of verses after today’s text we find the new commandment that the Lord Jesus gives us, to love one another. Keeping this commandment will place in the proper perspective all the other commandments. If all we do is based on our love for the Lord and for His people, we won’t fall into the legalistic trap of obeying commandments for the commandments’ sake, rigidly following the law at the expense of the needs and the feelings of those around us. Following our Lord’s commandments includes acting with the care and compassion that He displayed while He was with us.
There is nothing greater, more wonderful, more magnificent in all of earth and Heaven than the love of Christ. It follows that nothing could be better than keeping His commandments, because that will give us the greater knowledge of that love. – Jim MacIntosh