DAD'S RAMBLINGS -- LOVE AND OBEY

DAD'S RAMBLINGS – LOVE AND OBEY

"Therefore you shall love the LORD your God, and keep His charge, His statutes, His judgments, and His commandments always." (Deuteronomy 11:1)

Picture a wedding ceremony of years gone by when the bride and groom say their vows before the preacher. The preacher turns to the bride for her to repeat the vow: "I, Jane Doe, take you to be my husband, to have and to hold from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love, cherish, and obey, till death do us part, according to God's holy law."

Is there a word that seems out of place to our modern mindset? I don't know when I last heard the word "obey" included in the wedding vows. Somewhere along the line, there became a disconnect between loving and obeying.

God does not have any trouble linking the two words – love and obey – together. In these chapters of Deuteronomy 11 and 12, the command to love the LORD is issued three times (11:1, 13, 22) reflecting the charge given in Deuteronomy 6:5: "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength," and was identified by Jesus as the greatest commandment (Mark 12:30).

Obedience is mentioned even more often. The translators use various words – to obey His commandments (11:27-28): to observe His statutes, judgments, and commandments (11:32; 12:1, 28, and 32); and "carefully keep all these commandments which I command you to do – to love the LORD your God, to walk in all His ways, and to hold fast to Him" (11:22)

So how does that command – to obey the LORD – correlate to the command to love the LORD? Might I suggest that obedience is a demonstration of our love for Him. The Lord Jesus Himself said, "If you love me, keep my commandments " (John 14:15) If we truly love Jesus, we will want to do His will.

Love and obedience do go together, and I suggest that you can't have one without the other. Love without obedience is empty sentiment, and obedience without love is bondage. I serve the Lord because I love Him. How can I not love and obey Him when He died on the cross for me?

Love, Dad