Do you love Jesus, and believe that you are one of His true friends? This is the relationship we must have with Jesus if we want to spend eternity with Him.
But what is the difference between just believing in Him, and having a real relationship with Him? A relationship in which He lives in our hearts, in which we become more and more like Him each day?
“If you love Me, keep My commandments”
Jesus says in John 14: “If you love Me, keep My commandments … He who has My commandments and keeps them, it is he who loves Me … If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home with him.” John 14:15,21,23.
“That is how we know we are living in him. Those who say they live in God should live their lives as Jesus did.” 1 John 2:5-6 (NLT).
Jesus has made it possible for us to keep these commandments and to become more and more like Him each day! And He has given us the Holy Spirit as a Helper. We can keep all His commandments by saying No to our own will and never willingly give in to sin. He will give us all the power and help for this, if we give ourselves fully to Him.
Doing the will of the Father
“Not everyone who calls out to me, ‘Lord! Lord!’ will enter the Kingdom of Heaven. Only those who actually do the will of my Father in heaven will enter. On judgment day many will say to me, ‘Lord! Lord! We prophesied in your name and cast out demons in your name and performed many miracles in your name.’ But I will reply, ‘I never knew you. Get away from me, you who break God’s laws!’” Matthew 7:21-23 (NLT).
It is very important to keep His commandments; then Jesus is there for us when we ask for help. If we do our own will, and break His commandments, then the truth is that we love ourselves, and do not love Jesus. “He who says, ‘I know Him,’ and does not keep His commandments, is a liar …” 1 John 2:4.
By reading about Jesus and the way He lived during His time on earth, we can see what His commandments are, what we need to do to follow Him. God’s commandments for us in our time are clear in His word. See for example Matthew 22:37-40 (NLT) where Jesus says: “You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. A second is equally important: Love your neighbor as yourself. The entire law and all the demands of the prophets are based on these two commandments.” Read also Matthew 5:28 and 1 John 2:15.
The Bible also says that God’s laws will be written on our hearts instead of on tablets of stone as they were in the time before Jesus came to earth. “This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, says the Lord: I will put My laws into their hearts, and in their minds I will write them.“ Hebrews 10:16. We have been given the Holy Spirit as a Helper in our time, to teach us God’s will and remind us of His words. (John 14:26.)
Promises for those who keep His commandments
Just as there are clear warnings for those who ask Jesus for help but do not keep His commandments, there are also great promises for those who truly love Him (those who keep his commandments)! “But as it’s written: ‘That is what the Scriptures mean when they say, ‘No eye has seen, no ear has heard, and no mind has imagined what God has prepared for those who love him.’” 1 Corinthians 2:9 (NLT).
As we begin to keep His commandments and live His words, we are slowly becoming more and more like Jesus each day. Then we will become happier and more thankful for His commandments; they bring true rest and a joy that the world can never give us.
“I take joy in doing your will, my God, for your instructions are written on my heart.” Psalm 40:8 (NLT). If we have it like this, then His commandments will not be difficult for us at all. “We show our love for God by obeying his commandments, and they are not hard to follow.” 1 John 5:3 (CEV).
We must learn to keep all of Jesus’ commandments if we want to be together Him forever; if we want to be happy and free in the midst of all that comes our way during our life on earth.
We know in our hearts how we have it. If we haven’t done it right, then we can make a new decision to change the way we are living and love Jesus instead; just as He has loved us first.
“Everything that belongs to the world--what the sinful self desires, what people see and want, and everything in this world that people are so proud of--none of this comes from the Father; it all comes from the world. The world and everything in it that people desire is passing away; but those who do the will of God live forever.” 1 John 2:16-17 (GNT).
