Whenever I think of God's love, I always think of 1 Corinthians 13 which is awesome in explaining the different actions love produces.
But when I considered Jesus' words about obedience = love, it challenged me and intrigued me.
In 1 John 5:1-3, it says that the way we know we have love for one another (God's children) is when we love God and obey His commandments.
Let that that sink in for a minute. When we love God and obey His commandments, then we will know we have love for each other.
And that got me to thinking about God's two greatest commands - love God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength and all your might and love your neighbor as yourself.
There's no greater love than for a man to lay down his life for his friends. And that's what Jesus did, He laid down His love for His friends. And Jesus called us His friends if we do what He commands us to do.
And then my eyes fixed on the cross. There's no greater love than the cross. So how do I define love or what s the essence of God's love?
Jesus obeyed the will of His father - shed His blood for our sins that we would have forgiveness, that our relationship with God would be restored, that we would be saved and live eternally with Him and with one another.
The cross of Jesus is love in action through obedience reaching out to a lost world, His hand stretching towards ours that draws each and every one of us up out of the miry pit of sin's iniquity, inviting us to be crucified with Christ, baptized in His death and raised to new life in Him. Glory Hallelujah - Jesus set us free and filled us with His love!
John 14:15
“If you love Me, you will keep My commandments.
John 14:21-24
He who has My commandments and keeps them is the one who loves Me; and he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and will disclose Myself to him.” Judas (not Iscariot) *said to Him, “Lord, what then has happened that You are going to disclose Yourself to us and not to the world?” Jesus answered and said to him, “If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our abode with him. He who does not love Me does not keep My words; and the word which you hear is not Mine, but the Father’s who sent Me.
John 15:9-14
Just as the Father has loved Me, I have also loved you; abide in My love. 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. These things I have spoken to you so that My joy may be in you, and that your joy may be made full.
“This is My commandment, that you love one another, just as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, that one lay down his life for his friends. You are My friends if you do what I command you.
1 John 5:1-3
Whoever believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God, and whoever loves the Father loves the child born of Him. By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and observe His commandments. For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments; and His commandments are not burdensome.
2John 1:6
And this is love, that we walk according to His commandments. This is the commandment, just as you have heard from the beginning, that you should walk in it.