“If you keep my commands you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commands and remain in his love.” (v. 10)

Obedience isn’t religion.

Obedience isn’t salvation.

Obedience isn’t self-congratulation or haughtiness or holier-than-thou posturing.

Obedience—to the Word, to the things God calls us to, and to His ways—isn’t any of those things at all.

Obedience is love.

When we trust Jesus for redemption, we are also trusting Him for direction. Without Him, we would be stumbling in the same dark that had left us desperate, and we would find ourselves far off and alone again. But, because of Him, we know life and light—and, for love, we walk in it.

We obey because Jesus is worthy. We obey because Jesus is unfailingly right. We obey because the One who loves us leads us—to be more like Him, to be pleasing to the Father, and to produce Kingdom fruit (which is joy!).

Obedience is about love. So I will follow the One I love, who loved me first, and I will know the satisfaction of living for Him.

— Tyler