Believe Me: Love Ya!

“If you love me, you will obey what I command.” (John 14:15)

“Love ya!” “Oh, I love these things.” “I just love that show.” “That guy is great; I love him.” “I love you in those shoes.”

believeme_350We love to throw the word “love” around like it’s “like,” don’t we? And that’s fine as long as we all know what we mean. But the casual use of “love” has put a dent in our understanding of the word.

For his disciples, Jesus set the highest meaning of the word: “Love” = “obey me.” Ouch. I do not love that definition. I want to be able to shout “Yes, I LOVE Jesus!” and get some points for all that emotion without being fact-checked by my obedience.

Living love is so much harder than saying love.

Think: Do you think obedience to Jesus is a fair standard for whether we love him or not? How would you rate the distance between any feelings of love you have for God and your obedience of him?

Pray: Ask God to give you the courage and will to show your love for him by doing what he tells you to do.

Do: Listen this week for all the different ways people use the word “love.”