“If you love Me, keep My commandments.”
John 14:15
In the New Testament era, we do not have Ten Commandments like the Israelites did. They had commandments they had to obey and follow, thou shalt not kill, thou shalt not steal, thou shalt not bear false witness, thou shalt not covet what belongs to your neighbour, and all the other “thou shalt nots.”
It was documented and read out loud when they gathered together as a community in the place of worship. And beyond those Ten Commandments, there were laws about relationships and divorce, about how to handle slaves, about how to treat foreigners who came into their land. Laws that governed temple worship and how they related to other people. Practically everything had a law attached to it.
It is no wonder they struggled to keep up. I cannot even keep track of it, reading it now, so imagine living under that. And some of these laws had great consequences attached to them.
Now Jesus says, “If you love Me, keep My commandments.” But we do not have commandments like they did in those days. So what are we supposed to obey now?
Do what He says
First, a commandment means instruction. What He says should be done. The thing He lays down as concerning your life. So when He speaks to you personally, that is His commandment to you.
He could say, pray at this time. Start that thing. Stop that habit. Call that person. Obeying that instruction is how you show that you love Him. We are quick to point out disobedience in the big things. But the quiet, personal instructions are the ones we often ignore.
Loving God is not in how high we lift our hands in worship. It is not in how spiritual we sound. It is in whether we obey what He has told us to do.
What has He told you that you have been shelving? As I am speaking, I am remembering a couple of instructions He gave me at the beginning of this year. And I am saying again, Lord, give me grace to obey You, and to obey You quickly.
So if you see me moving faster this year, it is because I have chosen to move at the speed of obedience. I hope you do the same.
Shalom.
