John 14:15-18 – “If you love Me, keep My commandments.  16 And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever —   17 the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you.  18 I will not leave you orphans; I will come to you.”  NKJV

I have railed against Phariaism and the man-made list of rules and regulations so many legalist proclaim as much as anyone.  However, there often appears to be a truth forgotten in much of Christendom today regarding obedience.  This passage used as our text illustrates this powerfully and I wonder if sometime we miss the message.

Obedience is normally a fruit of either fear or love.  In this passage Jesus emphasized that IF we love Him we will obey Him.  We will not live unrestrained lives but will follow His commandments and directives.  He then revealed the difficulty in that effort and offered the comfort and hope of the truth that He is praying for us.  His prayers have a specific objective that the Father give us another Comforter or Helper, the Holy Spirit, who will be with us always.  He will come as the Spirit of Truth who is unknown by the world but would live in us and be our constant guide, conscience and teacher.  He would provide the help we need to enable us to be obedient.

When love fills the heart desire is there to please and conform to the wishes of the object of our love.  Most of us, who have children, know that although love is present and the desire is in the heart obedience is not always a given.  It could be due to any number of things such as knowledge or will power.  I never questioned whether my children loved me but there were times when they did not obey my commandments or instructions.  There were times when temptation overcame them and they succumbed to peer pressure or selfishness.  There were times when they wanted to obey and carry out my instructions but did not have the knowledge or ability to complete the task.  That is where the Holy Spirit comes in.  He knows the mind of God and can infuse courage and strength in our hearts so that we can resist temptation, know truth and enable us to walk in full obedience.

The Commandments of God are not to punish or deprive us but to protect and enable us to come out from among the world and live in the fullness of the Abundant Life Jesus brings.  God’s prohibitions are not designed to lessen our enjoyment of life but to enable us to truly live.  The Bible tells us that the pleasures of sin are but for a season.  It never said sin could provide no pleasure for the flesh, but it would not last.  In contrast the joy of the Lord is everlasting and not conditioned upon outward stimuli which feed the carnal man.

The statement of Jesus, “If you love me…” is quite revealing.  If one demonstrates a propensity to disobey it would be difficult to make the argument that love is present.  Whereas, if love is present there is a willingness and desire to obey.  Disobedience or failure to obey brings a contriteness to the heart because Love wants to please.  If love is present and willingness is demonstrated then we can be confident that the Holy Spirit will be present to enable and equip us to walk in obedience.  If you want to obey and love is in your heart, God will help you walk in obedience.

           God bless you as you go through this wonderful day in Jesus!