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Have you ever debated the qualities of dogs vs cats? Owners of each strongly believe their pet is the best. But there are a couple of things I have observed. You find a lot of services and web sites dedicated to dog training. Getting dogs to obey seems to be a challenge. You don’t find information on how to train your dog to love you – that seems to come naturally. But what about cats? Do cats obey? Do they love? Well, that probably depends on their mood that day!
I know! I am going to get comments from cat owners on this episode. I’ve made it easy with a link in the show notes!
Now, where were we? Obedience and love, these are important topics for people. In fact, Jesus said in John 14:15, “If you love me, you will obey what I command.” Is Jesus trying to manipulate us into obeying by questioning our love? No!
Jesus is saying there is an order to our relationship. We don’t start by obeying him. We start by loving him. Our love will flow into obedience. He states the negative in verse 24, “He who does not love me will not obey my teaching. These words you hear are not my own; they belong to the Father who sent me.”
If you struggle to follow the teaching of Jesus, focus first on loving him. Obedience will follow. Notice obedience is not the fruit of the Spirit, love is.
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Bumper music “Landing Place” performed by Mark July, used under license from Shutterstock.