The word of God has many assurances for believers of God's love for them in Christ. Take note of the following verses, for example:
"As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Abide in my love" (John 15:9, ESV);
"Who shall separate us from the love of Christ?...Shall tribulation, or distress...No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am sure that neither death nor life... nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord" (Rom. 8:35, 37, 39);
"See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are" (1 John 3:1).
Knowing that formerly we were dead in our sins and trespasses, enemies with God, and objects of His wrath (Eph. 2:1, 3; Rom. 5:9, 10), we have nothing to boast or to commend ourserves before a righteous God.
"But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ...and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus" (Eph. 2:4-6).
In another place we are also told, "[B]ut God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us...For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life" (Rom 5:8, 10). If we boast, we may only boast in the Lord and in the greatness of his love in Christ.
Time and again God reminds us, his people, of his steadfast love for us and for our children up to a thousand generations (Ex. 20:6; Ps. 145:8-13). No one who reads and believes these assurances from God's word will remain unmoved or unmotivated to respond in love to the God who loved us first (1 John 4:19).
That's why we can and may truly love the Lord and our neighbors because of the love of God in Christ that compels us (2 Cor. 5:14). And loving Christ is really keeping his commandments (John 14:15).
The apostle John says, "Loving God means keeping his commandments, and his commandments are not burdensome" (1 John 5:3, NLT).
As God's adopted children, God's love for us and God's Spirit living in us compel us to obey God and His word willingly and cheerfully. Only those whose hearts are hardened by sin, unchanged and untouched by the love of God and the gospel of Christ would find God's commandments burdensome.
The true children of God will surely find delight in serving God and in worshiping Him. At times they may find their old self resisting in following God's will. The Spirit of God, however, empowers them to overcome such resistance leading them to obedience.
The love of God shall prevail over them. The Lord graciously has provided everyone in his family the means and the ability to live a life that pleases him and edifies others. Such an assurance truly fuels obedience to the Lord on our part as members of his family.
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