Featured photo from Garden of the Gods – Colorado Springs Colorado
I am grateful that You are loving!
If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love; just as I have kept My Father’s commandments and abide in His love. John 15:10
Me:
Good morning Jesus!
Jesus:
Good morning Jon!
Me:
If I didn’t know better, from verses like Romans 5:8 (But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.), I could read John 15:10 as a statement of condition for God’s love.
Jesus:
“If” precedes a statement of condition, by definition. But it is not the condition that has come first to your mind. The condition is not stating that God will love you only if you behave in a particular way. The condition stated is that God – because He loves you – has prepared a beneficial (saving, growing, healthy, vibrant, giving, amazing, purpose-fulfilling, life-changing, joyful, …, and on and on) way for you to walk and has told you about it. The “if”, therefore, refers to whether you will accept His goodness and walk in the Way He has prepared; His plan for your good (Jeremiah 29:11).
“Don’t play in the street”, a parent tells his child. Is this a command?
Me:
Yes, it is.
Jesus:
Is it given to prevent the child from enjoying the wonders of the roadway?
Me:
It is given to protect the child whose experience is not developed enough to avoid the mortal dangers of traffic speeding along the street.
Jesus:
Is protection an expression of love?
Me:
Yes, it is. An expression of love by a parent meeting a critical need of the child.
Jesus:
Do all children obey?
Me:
No. Not all. Perhaps none obey all of the time.
Jesus:
Does disobedience in this matter dissolve the love of the parent for the child?
Me:
Not even if the worst actually happens.
Jesus:
So it is with God.
Me:
Thank You Jesus! I love You!
Jesus:
You are welcome! I love you!
