“He who has My commandments and keeps them, it is he who loves Me. And he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and manifest Myself to him” (John, ch. 14, v. 21*).
It's easy to say that we love God, but do we show through our actions that this is true? The old adage "actions speak louder than words" is very true.
Our love is measured by adherence to God’s commandments and principles. In fact, Christ emphasizes this very aspect three times in John, ch. 14, v. 15-24. To the disciples, it is nothing new. They should be familiar with the spiritual link between love and obedience (see Neh., ch. 1, v. 5; Dan., ch. 9, v. 4). The Lord has always emphasized that the way to show our dedication is by following what He has said (Deut., ch. 8, v. 11; ch. 10, v. 12; ch. 13, v. 3-4).
Half-hearted dedication may look good in front of others, but the Lord sees the difference. A preacher could deliver thousands of sermons without loving God. And we, as believers, may raise our hands in praise, support missions, and say the right words, but if we do not follow the commandments of God’s Word, we are lukewarm Christians. Even though actions are stronger than words, they prove nothing by themselves. To love God means to obey Him.
We are wise if we follow the instructions the Lord gave to Joshua—to meditate on the Word day and night (Josh., ch. 1, v. 8). Reading the Bible daily helps us understand how to be obedient—this is the only way to remain loyal and to show our Heavenly Father our love.
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Link to the original article: https://www.intouchuk.org/read/daily-devotions/the-measure-of-our-love
*Bible quotes are from The Bible, new translation from original languages © Bulgarian Bible Society 2013