Abide in Me

John 14:15
If you love Me, you will keep My commandments. NASB
If you love me, you will obey what I command. NIV
John 15:10
If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love; just as I have kept My Father's commandments and abide in His love. NASB
If you obey my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have obeyed my Father's commands and remain in his love. NIV

In my old Bible (NIV) I have wrote above John 14:15 this "obedience=love". I thought that for a VERY long time. I thought that me obeying either God's law's or that if I read my Bible every day, had a good amount of prayer time daily, served enough in my home church, gave above and over my tithe, taught my children properly and did my very best to BE, inside and out, a good Christian then it would PROVE my LOVE for God.
Somehow, I think I took the "Five Love Languages" and thought if I did them properly it would show and prove my love for God.
1) Words of Affirmation..did I affirm to God enough how much I loved Him? How thankful and grateful I am for...all things? That I adore and love Him?
2) Quality Time...did I spend enough time in prayer? Did I spend enough time in the Word? Did I have enough quiet time?
3) Receiving Gifts...Did I give enough? Is the gifts I have given Him satisfactory? Too little?
4) Acts of Service...Am I serving enough? What do I need to do? Am I obeying all His commandments properly?
5) Physical Touch...for me this would be 'emotional experience' since you can't physically touch Jesus, yet. So this for me would have been "feeling" Him. Do I feel Him enough? Does He feel my love for Him? Am I expressing it enough...emotionally and to others?

How in the world did I get that verse so backwards? Jesus said, "If you love Me, you will keep My commandments." NOT, what I thought it read, "If you obey my commands, you love Me." I truly thought obedience equaled love.

But I have to say, even though it was mixed up in my head, in my spirit it wasn't. Deep in my spirit, before I came to understand that obedience flows out of love, not love out of obedience...I KNEW this. I didn't remain faithful to Jesus out of obedience but out of love. Nor in any other aspect of my life. Since I've known and loved Jesus, His commandments have been written on my new heart. Somehow the message to my head was that obedience equals love. But Jesus tells me that obedience FLOWS out of LOVE for Jesus...in all areas of my life. I don't know what messed me up, wrong teaching? wrong understanding? Satan trying to trick me? my own lack of belief? I don't know.

What is God's greatest desire for us? I hear over and over, OBEDIENCE. God wants us to be obedient to Him. Oh really? I think not.

Matthew 22:36-38

36"Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?"

37And He said to him, " 'YOU SHALL LOVE THE LORD YOUR GOD WITH ALL YOUR HEART, AND WITH ALL YOUR SOUL, AND WITH ALL YOUR MIND.'

38"This is the great and foremost commandment.

Mark 12
28One of the scribes came and heard them arguing, and recognizing that He had answered them well, asked Him, "What commandment is the foremost of all?"

29Jesus answered, "The foremost is, 'HEAR, O ISRAEL! THE LORD OUR GOD IS ONE LORD;

30AND YOU SHALL LOVE THE LORD YOUR GOD WITH ALL YOUR HEART, AND WITH ALL YOUR SOUL, AND WITH ALL YOUR MIND, AND WITH ALL YOUR STRENGTH.'

Luke 10
25And a lawyer stood up and put Him to the test, saying, "Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?"

26And He said to him, "What is written in the Law? How does it read to you?"

27And he answered, "YOU SHALL LOVE THE LORD YOUR GOD WITH ALL YOUR HEART, AND WITH ALL YOUR SOUL, AND WITH ALL YOUR STRENGTH, AND WITH ALL YOUR MIND; AND YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF." ; AND YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF."



Love.

Obedience flows out of love.

You can't really ask or expect anyone to obey God's commands without love for Him. Love comes from God and is God. The greatest commandment is to LOVE HIM. True Love abides only in those that know and believe in Jesus. For Jesus is love. Don't expect unbelievers to keep God's commands, it's just not IN them to do so. Many, many Christians are like I was, too busy dealing with their flesh and trying to DO right and BE right...not resting and trusting in Him...to UNDERSTAND that obedience flows out of love, not love flows from obedience. They are too busy trying to prove their love for Him that they don't just REST in His love.

He loves you. Rest in that. Trust in that. When you do then obedience to His commands (aka...LOVE THE LORD YOUR GOD WITH ALL YOUR HEART, AND WITH ALL YOUR SOUL, AND WITH ALL YOUR STRENGTH, AND WITH ALL YOUR MIND) flows from love.

In other words:
In loving Him with all that you are, you are keeping His command to love Him. Love flows from love.