1 John 2:3-6
We know that we have come to know him if we keep his commands. Whoever says, "I know him," but does not do what he commands is a liar, and the truth is not in that person. But if anyone obeys his word, love for Godis truly made complete in them. This is how we know we are in him: Whoever claims to live in him must live as Jesus did.
John said that if someone knows the Lord, he must keep his commands. "Know" in the original language means the intimacy between a couple. The Bible tells us to know the Lord, meaning that the relationship is never the knowledge but some kind of intimacy. In other words, a person who loves the Lord will definitely keep his commands. Love and obedience can never be separated. If someone loves, he will definitely obey. An obedient person must be so because he is touched by God's love.
Do you love the Lord? Love is actually the original motivation for our faith. When I was working in the DC area, I used to have a friend whose girlfriend lived in New York City. He would drive for five hours to New York City to meet her every Friday, then drive for another five hours back to DC every Sunday afternoon before he went to work the next day. We all thought it must be exhausting for him to do so. But he was never exhausted. And he was happy to do so. Why? Because there was love. Over the years as a minister, I started to pay more and more attention to this. I used to just emphasize what should and what should not be done. But more and more I started to realize that my teaching did not go anywhere. Many people know what should be done. But they never did it, because they did not have the motivation, which is love! When I started to teach brothers and sisters to love the Lord, I found that naturally as the result they would start to do what should be done. If someone loves the Lord, he would naturally make offerings and serve the Lord, for there is love inside him, which becomes his motivation.
How can we love the Lord more? The easiest way is to worship and praise. During worship we keep telling God: "Lord, we love you". On one hand we express our love to the Lord. On the other hand, what we say also reinforces how we feel. May God open our heart, so that we can come to him and freely express our love to him. When we express in this way, our love for him will also grow, which is also the basic command to keep, for the Lord says that the greatest command among all commands is to love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength.
Pray with Pastor Tong Liu
Lord, we thank you. We love you because you first loved us. May you put our love for you inside us, so that we are willing to serve you and people around us every day. We do that not because we should do so, but because we love you. We thank you and we pray in the victorious name of Jesus, amen!
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