Daily Verse: John 15:10-11

“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. I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete.”

 

A common view of the Christian religion is that it is a judgmental set of guidelines and rules put into place to limit our lives…it’s a downer, an inhibitor, a restraint. But as we can see in the text above, this common belief is a total misconception…completely false, completely wrong. We are called to follow God’s commands because it is to our benefit…we will actually draw great joy from living a life that reflects the commands outlined by Christ. Seems backwards, doesn’t it…a life that must adhere to a strict set of rules and limitations is actually BETTER than a life filled with “whatever” and “whenever”. When we follow God’s commands, we are no longer under the reign of sin…we are no longer pinned down, the “boot” of sin at our throat, making a mess of what we say, think, and do. We are set free of sin…we are enabled with the power, ability, and wisdom to defeat the sin that we once thought was so “great” and “essential”. This incredible joy and love is not something that can be bottled up and handed out…we can’t pick it up in our hands and get a good feel for it. It is something that just IS…through the Holy Spirit dwelling in our lives, we come to realize this mysterious joy…we simply feel it and we know that we remain in the Lord and the Lord remains in us. And as we can see in additional verses in John 15, there is great benefit to living with the Lord…see verse 5, "I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing”….and verse 7, “If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you.”…and verse 15, “I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master's business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you.” May we strive to obey the commands of our Lord each day, and bask in the joy, love, and peace that comes with knowing that the Lord calls us friends! To God be the glory!