For the love of God is this, that we obey his commandments. And his commandments are not burdensome…” vs. 3
1 John 5:4-6
It’s really not that difficult to be a follower of Jesus! All that is necessary is that we keep God’s commandments! And what are God’s commandments? Well, John’s not talking about the Ten Commandments that we learn in Sunday School or the 613 commandments that we can dig up out of the Hebrew Scriptures. He’s talking about the Jesus commandments, the ones that are laid out in the gospel of John. And to put it very briefly, he has in mind faith and love. We’re pretty familiar with the love commandment, the one Jesus laid on his disciples after the Passover meal, “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another.” Admittedly, that’s not always so easy to do, but at least we usually give it an honest effort. But faith is the commandment that gets us into the community of lovers–it’s the first step in following Jesus. Generally, we don’t think of it as a commandment–it seems like more of an invitation–but it is something we are called on to do. Like the love commandment it comes from the gospel of John where the writer says plainly that those who believe that Jesus is the Son of God will receive eternal life. And that’s why this writer says the commandments are not burdensome–they should be as natural as breathing for those who love God.
Thought for the Day: Which is more difficult: believing or loving?
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