LOVE LEADS TO OBEDIENCE
By Bishop Mike Okonkwo
Friday 3rd February 2023
“By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God, and keep his commandments.” 1 John 5:2 (KJV)
We live in interesting times when men love convenience above all else. I recall when the message of grace started, the first complaint of people is that grace was a license to sin, and one thing I told everyone that cared to listen was that if you truly understand grace, you will run from sin and our scripture for today makes it so clear.
The proof of loving God is obedience. Now, that should not surprise you. All truths are parallel. If you love someone naturally, you will do everything within your power to make the person happy. The more you love someone, the more compliant you are with the person’s lifestyle. When you hang around someone you love, pretty soon you begin to talk like the person, you walk like the person, your mannerism aligns with the person’s own, and in a matter of time, even the person’s slangs become yours. Why? It is simple, the more you hang around the person, the more the person rubs off on you, indeed iron sharpens iron.
The same with the believer; the more you hang around God in prayers, worship, and study of the word, the more you become like Him, and you readily do the things that please Him. The stronger your relationship with God, the more sin cannot have dominion over you. The yoke of sin falls off without effort and you can sing: “the things I used to do, I do them no more” because of the great change that has happened in your life. Now you do these things not out of compulsion or fear of a hammer falling over your head but out of love for Him who first loved you and paid the price for your eternal redemption. When you understand love, then obedience comes naturally.
Further Reading: 1 John 5:1-3
Daily Bible Reading: Morning- Exodus 31-33; Evening- Matthew 22:1-22