"If you love me..."

Jesus has so ravished my heart by giving me revelation of His sweet affections towards me.  I have received so much healing and have developed so much intimacy with the Lord by studying His great love for me.  I am in awe of how loving our Father is and how much He desires, enjoys, and longs for each of us. 

His affections for me have drawn me to love Him more, to seek Him more, and to desire His presence more.  

The other day I was searching through the Bible to see what scripture says about what my love for God should look like.  I want to know what pleases the heart of God.  I want my love to set His heart on fire just as much as His love for me sets my heart on fire.  As I was searching through verses, I noticed a common theme… Loving God and obeying God go hand-in-hand.  Look at these three verses from the book of John:

“If you love me, you will obey what I command.” John 14:15

“Jesus replied, ‘If anyone loves me, he will obey my teaching. My Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him.’” John 14:23

“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.” John 15:10

To love God is to obey God.  

I don’t just want to feel love in my heart for God; I want to show Him how much I love Him with my actions. In order to obey God’s words we must know what His words are. We must study scripture and we must listen to the convictions He lays on our hearts.  I want to love God in a radical way, so I must obey God in a radical way.  

Thank you, Jesus, for showing me how to love you more. Give me the strength to radically obey you, Jesus.