Devotionals - HomeWord - Oct. 5, 2009

Obedience 
This devotional was written by Jim Burns

Whoever has my commands and obeys them, he is the one who loves me. He who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love him and show myself to him. —John 14:21

The call to Christ is the call to obedience. Dietrich Bonhoeffer once said, "Only those who obey can believe, and only those who believe can obey."

So many people today have the wrong opinion of living a life of obedience. Obedience is not a penalty levied on faith. It is the strength of faith. The commands of God are all designed to make us more happy than we can possibly be without them. The commands of God are not oppressive; they are blessings. Today's Scripture points out, the more we obey God, the more real God becomes to us and the greater our faith grows.

The more we love God, the more we become like Him in our characteristics. It is like a good marriage: people who love their spouse want to please them; if they do not want to please their spouse, they can hardly talk of loving them.

Obedience to God is our loving response to his gift of life and love. We don't have to obey God out of deep-rooted responsibility, but out of a response for what he has already done for us.

To obey God is to love God. Jesus said it this way: "If you love me, you will obey what I command." John 14:15

GOING DEEPER: 

1. What is the principle found in John 14:21? 
2. What areas of your life could use a little more obedience?

FURTHER READING: 
Psalm 103:13-22

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