"If you love Me, you will keep My commandments."
Jesus’ take on loving Him is quite short, simple, and straightforward. When you think about loving Jesus today then think of it on His terms and not your own. Jesus qualifies our love for Him. We don’t get to decide what loving Jesus looks like. He is our Creator. He is our Savior. He is our Lord. He has all authority in heaven and on earth. He is the one that tells us what love for Him looks like.
“If” - is a conditional word. What is the condition? Keeping His commandments. What are His commandments? "This is My commandment, that you love one another, just as I have loved you." (John 15:12 NASB95) Would that be all, it would be enough of a challenge for a lifetime, but Jesus said “commandments” - plural, as in, more than just one. What are those? "And Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying, ‘All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you’ …’" (Matthew 28:18-20 NASB95) The commandments of Jesus are not just the words in red, they are all the words read… throughout the New Testament!
“Keep” - “τηρήσετε, ye will keep. Lay up in your hearts and preserve by careful watching.” (Vincent’s Word Studies) - It is the idea that we “continue on” in obedience. Another word associated with the word “keep” that we often see in the old testament is “observe”, as in, “observe my commandments”. Notice the root word “serve” in observe. Again, not a one-time act of love, but a continual love expressed through a continual observance/obedience of the commands of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
I appreciate what commentator Adam Clarke had to say on this passage, “If ye love me, keep my commandments - Do not be afflicted at the thought of my being separated from you: the most solid proof ye can give of your attachment to and affection for me is to keep my commandments. This I shall receive as a greater proof of your affection than your tears.”
Sometimes we criticize those who seem solemn and emotionless and yet are devoted and faithfully duty-bound in service to our Lord. The truth is, according to Jesus, we show more love to Him, and true love to Him, through faithful obedience than through tears or smiles. Let’s meditate on that throughout the day and let it sink in to the point of being “impressed” upon our hearts. If we love Him, we will keep His commandments.
Comments