Wow this will be my first real post!

I was reading today in John 14 and a few thoughts hit me that I would like to share to be a blessing to those around me also. It is a familiar passage in that we always focus on the first few verses to show people the way to heaven. This is really good, but I would like to look at a few other verses that spoke to me. In verse 15 it says "If ye love me, keep my commanments." This is a short, but very strong verse. Love is a word that gets thrown around so much today that it has lost its meaning. We cringe when teenagers tell each other that they love them. I know that I have not been married long, but I do know that I never knew what love was. The longer I am married I will realize that I never really knew what love is. I think that ever older male knows what I am talking about. Here are a few thoughts from this verse:

1. This is a commandment. You say that is a no brainer. Right, but how many of us actually do it? I think we have lost a lot of the "simple" things of Christianity to dwell on the deep knowledge and intellectual thinking. Love is an inward emotion with an outward action. How do we know that our spouse loves us? By the things that they say and do.

2. Love gives. We can see this especially in John 3:16 where it says, "For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son..." Love will always give. In a marriage it is full of giving to the other person. Love is not selfish as is the consensus of people today. They say that they love, but it is for selfish reasons. When we truly love someone then we will do whatever it takes to give to them and to make them happy.


3. Love obeys. Keep my commandments. Liberty lovers should hate this verse because it is means that there are laws and commandments that need to be followed. I think that we try to be so free from everything that we forget what Matthew 6:24 says. It is impossible as a human to not serve or be under someone. Since we want to be under Christ, then we need to obey his commandments that He has established. How do we know if you love God? By your outward actions and words. I like what one preacher once said, "Don't just talk the talk, but walk the walk." So as we go about our lives, we need to remember that people do judge us by our actions and they need to be actions that obey God's commandments and principles.


YOU LIVE WHAT YOU LOVE!!!