“As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love. If you keep my commands, you will remain in my love…I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and your joy may be complete” (John 15:9-11 NIV).
Imagine if a couple has fallen in love, they have realized that they are meant for each other and the guy says to the girl, “I love you. Marry me. Be my wife. Let's spend life together, sharing everything, going everywhere together, being there only for each other.” Would she respond, “You Tyrant! You want me to give up my autonomy, follow you around, give up some of my rights…for You?” What is the difference between tyranny and love? In both cases you end up doing things that you don’t want to do (Do you think I would choose my new pink bedspread?), going places you would not regularly go (e.g. the in-laws for the holidays) and giving up things that you would rather keep (I don’t want to spend my money to buy size 8 women’s running shoes).
Do you think I would choose my new pink bedspread?
But I do have a pink bedspread, go to St. Louis for the holidays and buy women’s running shoes. Why? Am I a slave? Do I have a slavemaster that forces me to do these things? No, I love someone. And love always requires sacrifice. As one person moves closer to another, their rights come into conflict. A close relationship requires that one person lays down some rights. Jesus has loved us. He sacrificed first. And in bringing us into relationship with himself, by dying in our place, he demands our sacrifice. A demand based on love: he wants what is best for us, he knows that us loving others and not being selfish will bring us full joy, but it is still a demand. And if we love him, if we see him for who he is, if we want him in all his glory, then we will obey his commands, because in the light of who He is, the demands seems as insignificant as me sleeping under a pink bedspread. Our faith (which is our ability to see as real something that is spiritual, see Hebrews 11:1) creates our motivation for love.[1] And love generates genuine obedience to the demands of Jesus.
Do you love him? What areas of your life reveal that you may not love him as he deserves? Are you like a fiancé that is sleeping around? Is an eternal life of joy with Jesus worth his demands for an exclusive relationship?
[1] Galatians 3-5 connects faith in the preached word with being filled with the Spirit (Galatians 3:2 “Let me ask you only this: “Did you receive the Spirit by works of the Law or by hearing with faith?” ESV). And then Paul notes that anyone that is filled with the Spirit produces the fruit of the Spirit (i.e. love, joy, peace, etc, see Galatians 5:22-23). Furthermore, he confirms this connection in Galatians 5:6b, “The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love” (NIV, emphasis added). In Galatians, because the person with faith becomes filled with the Spirit, they produce the effects of faith, namely love, patience, etc. I think it is reasonable to connect these ideas to Galatians 6:8, “Whoever sows to please their flesh, from the flesh will reap destruction; whoever sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life” (notice the contrast between flesh and Spirit in 6:8 as compared to Galatians 5). This then, is practical. Sow to please the Spirit. And as you sow to please the Spirit, you will reap eternal life. Is this a “works-based” salvation? No, because only those that love the Spirit of God will want to please the Spirit of God. And only those that believe in, hope in and trust in the Spirit of God love the Spirit of God. It is faith in what Jesus has done for us on the Cross, dying in our place for our sins, that allows us to have the purity that allows the Holy Spirit to live inside of us. Without his atoning work, we could not be a habitation for the Spirit.
Your mom made the pink quilt so I'm honoring her by having it on our bed.
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