Charles Stanley (March-28-2025) Daily Devotional: The Measure of Our Love.
We don't obey God to prove our love, but when we love Him, we want to obey Him more and more.
John 14:15-24 - ``If you love Me, you will keep My commandments. ``I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may be with you forever; that is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it does not see Him or know Him, but you know Him because He abides with you and will be in you. ``I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you. ``After a little while the world will no longer see Me, but you will see Me; because I live, you will live also. ``In that day you will know that I am in My Father, and you in Me, and I in you. ``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.
It’s easy to say we love God, but are you showing by your deeds that you love Him? The old adage is true: Actions speak louder than words.
The measure of our love is obedience to God’s commands and principles. In fact, Jesus stressed that very point three times in today’s Bible passage (vv. 15, 21, 23). This wasn’t a new concept for the disciples either. They would have been familiar with the scriptural connection between love and obedience (Nehemiah 1:5 - I said, ``I beseech You, O LORD God of heaven, the great and awesome God, who preserves the covenant and lovingkindness for those who love Him and keep His commandments,; Daniel 9:4 - I prayed to the LORD my God and confessed and said, ``Alas, O Lord, the great and awesome God, who keeps His covenant and lovingkindness for those who love Him and keep His commandments). In fact, God has always emphasized that the way to show our devotion is by doing what He says (Deuteronomy 8:11 - Beware that you do not forget the LORD your God by not keeping His commandments and His ordinances and His statutes which I am commanding you today; Deut.10:12 - Now, Israel, what does the LORD your God require from you, but to fear the LORD your God, to walk in all His ways and love Him, and to serve the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul,; Deuteronomy 13:3-4 - you shall not listen to the words of that prophet or that dreamer of dreams; for the LORD your God is testing you to find out if you love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul. `You shall follow the LORD your God and fear Him; and you shall keep His commandments, listen to His voice, serve Him, and cling to Him).
Halfhearted commitment can look pretty good to others, but God knows the difference. A preacher could preach a thousand sermons without loving God. And as believers, we may lift hands in worship, support missions, and say the right words. But unless we’re following the commands from God’s Word, the most we’re showing Him is lukewarm affection. Works prove nothing. Loving the Lord means obeying Him.
We are wise, therefore, to follow the Lord’s instructions to Joshua—that is, to meditate on Scripture day and night (Joshua 1:8 - ``This book of the law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it; for then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have success). Reading from the Bible daily helps us know how to obey—that is the only way to stay faithful and show the Father our love.
