Have you ever found yourself saying, “I love you Lord” but deep down you are not really sure if you even know what that means? Well…that is me 99.9% of the time. However, today I discovered that I can finally put the question of whether I truly love God or not to rest with this simple test:

And this is love: that we walk in obedience to his commands. 2 John 1:6a NIV

Wow! this actually stopped me in my tracks!

The evidence of the love we have for God is found in our obedience. To rephrase, obedience is the inertia (the driving force) of our love. It is the vessel that carries out the intent of our love.  It is the donkey that carries a triumphant Jesus into Jerusalem.  A scripture comes to mind:

For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son… John 3:16 KJV

The intent of this love was that Jesus, would pay the ultimate sacrifice to redeem us back to God. However, if Jesus had not been obedient, the purpose for that love would have never been fulfilled.

He humbled himself in obedience to God and died a criminal’s death on a cross. Philippians 2:8 NLT

We sing wonderful songs of the love that motivated Christ to die for us and that is amazing. But let me tell you,  it was obedience that sealed the transaction of love the day an agonizing Jesus carried His old rugged cross up to Golgotha. Jesus had a choice (authority) to lay his life down and take it up again and that day, He was intentional in His obedience  to choose you and I (read John 10:18).

For just as through the disobedience of the one man the many were made sinners, so also through the obedience of the one man the many will be made righteous. Romans 5:19 NIV

The victory of salvation and redemption came through the obedience of Jesus. This is why you cannot speak of a victorious christian life outside of obedience. As one of my readers said, obedience is key. But I digress…

Jesus testified to His love for God in His obedience:

But I do exactly what the Father has commanded Me, so that the world may know that I love the Father. John 14:31 Berean Study Bible

So I leave you with this thought: To love is to obey and to obey is to love. Be intentional.