“Jesus replied, “Anyone who loves me will obey my teaching.” John 14:23 NIV

If You Love God – Obey God

When I was a child, it was easy to obey my parents because I loved them and wanted to please them. As a young adult, I became enticed by the excitement of a world that invited me to join with the people who appeared to have it all. For a season, I became rebellious and self-sufficient which left a sickness of my soul that was unbearable. That kind of pain and loneliness brought me to my knees and in a moment of clarity the truth became very real and I reached out for help, and Jesus pulled me out of the pit.

In the beginning I learned to obey God, because I didn’t want to suffer. It took some time to realize God’s love for me, but I learned to love God and I wanted to obey Him and please Him. Today when I know I should do a thing, and do it, immediately I know more. What a sad thing it would be to refuse to go on knowing.

The golden rule for understanding spirituality is not intellect, but obedience. If we want scientific knowledge, intellectual curiosity is our guide. But if we want insight into what Jesus Christ teaches, we can only get it by obedience. When things seem dark to me, then I can be sure there is something I will not do. I did not do it because there seemed no immediate call to. But the teaching of Jesus hits us right where we live. We disobey and then wonder why we are spiritually out of fellowship with our Father. We cannot stand before him and shrug our shoulders for one second.

First, we go – then we obey God.

It is a lot better to fulfill the purpose of God in our lives by discerning His will through obedience than to perform acts of self-sacrifice. “To obey is better than sacrifice.”

Intellectual darkness is ignorance; spiritual darkness comes because of something I do not intend to obey.

“Heavenly Father, please turn the lights back on in my soul, quicken my spirit, and direct my behavior to obey Your words the instant I hear them. Let the desire of my heart this day, be to honor what You say, with the willingness to go first—and obey.”