Obedience is all about the Relationship

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. In him was life, and that life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it.” John 1:1-5

I love the opening to the book of John…each time I read it, I seem to discover something new. Again, this week as I read it…I realized something about me. I had allowed myself to become one dimensional with my Bible…I was obedient to reading the Word a lot each week as I prepared sermons or lessons. I love studying God’s Word, and the writings of some of the Christian Greats, in ways to discover his truth to effectively communicate to others. It was also true of my time in seminary…reading it in a way to be able to communicate with appropriate academic understanding. But as I reflected back on John 1… I realized my obedience to the Word…had become obedience to the words on the page…not the WORD that was with God in the beginning…and was God…Jesus. I had turned the WORD into a text book instead of the opportunity to encounter my risen savior.

So I’ve gone back to the Word with a different focus. I am now spending time in and with the Word…Jesus, my savior. Each morning I read from a Gospel, in this case-John (The Gospel of Love), a proverb or two and a Psalm or two. And as I do…my goal isn’t to make sure I get the reading done…but to allow Jesus as the Word to speak to me…speak in to me…to build our relationship deeper…fuller...more intimate.

Today as I read John 14, I encountered Christ. I was reminded that my obedience to the Word is my way of showing true love to him and to be open to be loved by Jesus…and loved by our Heavenly Father. And if you don’t believe me or forget…ask the Spirit of Truth I gave you when you first loved me!!! I love you Paul...and your obedience proves it!

Obedience Verse for the Week
Whoever has my commands and obeys them, he is the one who loves me. He who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love him and show myself to him." John 14:21