With Obedience

“Whoever has My commandments and observes them is the one who loves Me.” John 14:21

For me there is no doubt that God loves each one of us. Saint Augustine says the Lord loves each of us as if there were only one of us to love. His rain and His blessings pour upon each one, even if we curse Him, are ungrateful, or ignore Him. And then I think about me and my response to Him. Do I really love God? 

Jesus said that “Those who obey My commandments are the ones who love me.” One of my favorite sayings is, “With obedience comes blessing.” Peter caught much fish when he obeyed Christ’s suggestion to let down his nets on the other side of the boat. Even if Peter had been out the whole night and caught nothing, he obeyed and went home with a huge haul of fish. What if Peter said instead, “I’m so tired from fishing the whole night! We have gone through these waters already. I just want to go home!” Peter would have missed the miracle of the harvest! 

What “harvest” have we missed because we were too tired, too apathetic, too careful of our comfort to obey something God wanted us to do? Usually the Lord’s suggestions start as something small. Pray. Listen to me. Read My Word. Then if we do these faithfully every day, He will surprise us with a doozy. “Go to Quezon City Jail,” He told me one day in 2009. I cried and cried because I did not want to go inside a place crowded with male prisoners. My mother saw me crying and asked what was wrong. She said she would go with me if no one else would accompany me. 10 years later and my sister and brother-in-law continue to preach in that miserable place once a week. What a huge harvest of souls! 

Lord, help me to hear Your still, small voice. Stir in my heart an ardent desire to serve You and obey You.