When the writer to the Hebrews exhorted them to draw near to God “with a true heart in full assurance of faith” (Hebrews 10:22), he was communicating the very heart of God. How easy it is to drift away from that precious truth!
Out of all the commandments, the most important is loving the Lord with our whole being. Certainly loving our Lord is displayed by obedience, but if that obedience lacks love it’s nothing more than a form of godliness, certainly not a reflection of Jesus Christ.
The love of Christ is to be the motive for our service. However, the only way that we can display the fruit of love is by being intimate with the Vine.
May we take God’s invitation to draw near to Him seriously. Loving fellowship with our precious Father and Lord Jesus is what our faith is all about.
Pastor Ray,
I loved how you captured the various facets of obedience.
“…loving our Lord is displayed by obedience, but if that obedience lacks love it’s nothing more than a form of godliness, certainly not a reflection of Jesus Christ.”
Columbia South Carolina is a military town and Christians here often link obedience to God with serving in the military. Duty is absolutely a common theme and the bible often uses military metaphors for our service to Christ. Obedience in the bible is often connected with fear (or awe) of God- our beginning of wisdom.
But ultimately Jesus is not our sargent, He is our Savior. Whereas obedience can and should display our love of God, it needs to extend beyond duty, awe, or fear. Jesus’ died on the cross for He so LOVED the world. 1 John 4:8 sums it up “He that loves not knows not God; for God is love.”
Let our love of Christ be the ultimate motive for our service, always remembering that He loved us first.
Blessings,
JoseM