Thought for today

“If you obey my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have obeyed my Father's commands and remain in his love.” (John 15:10).

This is an interesting verse and one of those that many people find challenging - there are two things contained in this verse that many of us are reluctant to do.

The first difficulty is with the plea to obey - not something we find easy and I suppose to some extent we try from a very early age not to obey. We tend to push the boundaries to see what we can get away with and often if we are given an instruction to obey there is a temptation to test it out - think of the 'Wet Paint Do Not Touch' sign and how often we find ourselves wanting to see if it really is wet.

The second difficulty is with commands - how hard it is to follow a command - I am much more likely to react positively if asked than if I am told and I suspect there will be many who can associate with this thought.

And yet what a promise there is in this verse - the promise that if we do obey His commands we remain in His love. What better place can there be?