Obedience & Love

Through babysitting, Sunday school teaching, and camp counseling experience, I've realized that young children show affection very easily. They quickly go from meeting someone to giving hugs, kisses, and saying, "I love you!" I've always found this friendliness to be very sweet and innocent. It can become a little frustrating though, when a child who says they love you and lavishes you with hugs then refuses to follow your rules or listen to you! I am already seeing this in my little toddler, who runs over yelling, "Mommy!" and giving hugs one minute, then completely ignoring me when I am reprimanding her the next!

I had an experience like this with another child recently and I thought in my head, "If this child really loved me, they would listen to me and observe my rules." I was struck hard by the similarity between my emotion and what Jesus said in the Bible. In John chapter 14, Jesus says, "If you love me, you will obey what I command...Whoever has my commands and obeys them, he is the one who loves me...If anyone loves me, he will obey my teaching...He who does not love me will not obey my teaching." I thought to myself, if I feel unloved by a young child because they disobey me, how much must my Father in heaven feel unloved by me when I do not follow His commands and teachings? I do not want to be like a young child, professing my love to God verbally and superficially, but then turning around and breaking His commands. John chapter 14 clearly shows that love for God and obedience of God are inextricably woven together. Christ stresses this because He wants us to reap the reward of obedience to God. As He puts it in v. 23, "My Father will love him [who loves and obeys me] and we will come to him and make our home with him."