The Daily Word of Righteousness

One With God, #13

Whoever has my commands and obeys them, he is the one who loves me. He who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love him and show myself to him. (John 14:21—NIV)

We show our love for Jesus by keeping His commandments. Then the Father loves us. While the Father loves all of His creatures, for His Nature is love, it is clear from the above verse that He loves in a special, specific manner those who show their love for Christ by keeping His commandments.

We may say we love Jesus Christ. But if we do not obey His commandments we do not truly love Him. It is as simple as this!

"And show myself to him."

It seems to me, after having been a Christian for many years, that the Lord is closer to us than He has been in time past. I think it is especially important in the present hour that we look up to Jesus for every thought, word, and action of our life, no matter how small or how great.

Right now look up to Jesus and see if you do not receive wisdom and help for what you are faced with.

I think the increasing closeness of the Lord is due to the increasing evil of our environment. I expect that in the days to come the closeness will increase and the evil will increase. We are not going to be able to stand unless we are accustomed to looking to Jesus for everything!

"And show myself to him." I do not profess to have the fullness of this experience but I am believing for it. We are going to need to see the Lord more clearly, I believe.

Then Judas (not Judas Iscariot) said, "But, Lord, why do you intend to show yourself to us and not to the world?" (John 14:22—NIV)

From the above verse we see that the fourteenth chapter of the Gospel of John is not speaking of the Lord's historic return to the world in the clouds of glory. Rather we are dealing with a personal coming to His disciples.

Jesus replied, "If anyone loves me, he will obey my teaching. My Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him." (John 14:23—NIV)

Here is the climax of the Christian redemption. Here is the experience we must have if we are to stand in victory throughout the reign of Antichrist.

"He will obey my teaching." We can see from this why Satan has worked so hard to convince the Christian churches that because we are saved by "grace" we are not obligated to obey the teachings of Jesus Christ. All depends on our obeying the commandments found in the New Testament. We simply shall not survive spiritually in the age of moral horrors unless we are diligently obeying the New Testament injunctions.

"My Father will love him."

The Lord Jesus came to reveal the Father to us. Christ Himself is the Way to the Father, meaning that if we would approach the Father—our Father—we must do so by abiding in Christ. It is not that Christ is the Father, it is that Christ is the Way to the Father. Christ has made it possible for us to come to the Father. When Christ ascended He did so to our Father and His Father; to our God and His God.

To be continued.