Love and Obedience

I just finished up the Bible study called "What Love Is" by Kelly Minter.  Our church women's ministry sponsored it, and my small group was "real" together.  We pressed through 1st, 2nd, and 3rd John in 6 weeks.  Learning much about what love is - and isn't.  Here are a few nuggets I want to remember.  The word "command" implies that obedience is necessary.  Obedience doesn't conjure up ideas of fun for me - in fact I often want to rebel from it.  However, God says that love and obedience go hand in hand - especially when we are showing our love to God.

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And this is his command: to believe in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ, and to love one another as he commanded us.  I John 3:23

"We can't separate loving others from our belief in Jesus.  Both are intertwined.  Our confession of Him will lead to action, and true love in action will result from our knowing Him.  Belief without love can make you a Pharisee.  Love without belief can make you a humanitarian.  But if you have both, you're a child of God."   - pg 103, What Love Is, by Kelly Minter

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Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God, and everyone who loves the father loves his child as well. This is how we know that we love the children of God: by loving God and carrying out his commands. In fact, this is love for God: to keep his commands. And his commands are not burdensome, for everyone born of God overcomes the world. This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith. Who is it that overcomes the world? Only the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God.  I John 5:1-5

Why does the scripture say "his commands are not burdensome"? I don't have the answer because I think it is sometimes hard to decide to obey - the actual mental thought process. I am struggling to align my mind with God's spirit in me. Honestly, I often don't make the right decision.  However, I have found that when I decide to be obedient to God, the physical action of obedience "is not burdensome". God provides what is needed to accomplish what he called me to do.   And guess what? We can overcome the world as a child of God!  I would call that a victorious position to be in and incentive to decide to be obedient.

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