Sometimes this means giving others what they are seeking - and sometimes it means refraining from doing so in order to avoid 'enabling' them when what they are seeking is not in their actual best interests.Įllen White proposes that this other-focussed giving is the absolute foundational principle (or 'law') of life for earth and heaven and that this motivational principle has its origin/source in the heart of God ( Desire of Ages). This means that your attitude, thoughts and actions towards others are to genuinely benefit their growth and development. What is love? From a Kingdom-of-God-reality perspective, 'love' is having a heart that is self-giving other-benefiting - just like Jesus did. But why and how is it true? Once again, we need to go behind the words themselves and 'see' what is actually/functionally going on. Today's lesson states that "love to God is inseparably linked to obedience to Him." This statement is absolutely true. Is it any different today? What is your own experience in seeking to obey God? That is, what are your own motives in obeying God? Why should it be done out of love for Him? What role, if any, should fear, the biblical understanding of fear, play, as well? Now they would respond by faithfully obeying His commandments. That is, their love and obedience was a response to the redemption that God had given them. When Moses over and over told Israel to love and obey God, he did it after they had been redeemed from Egypt. When we truly love God, especially because of what He has done for us in Christ Jesus, we want to obey Him, because that’s what He asks us to do. Though obedience to any of the commandments can be legalism, that kind of obedience isn’t really done out of love for God. Keeping the fourth commandment is no more legalism than is keeping any of the other nine. And this obedience to God means obedience to His law, the Ten Commandments, which includes the fourth commandment as well, the Sabbath. That has always been the case, and it always will be. Love to God must always be expressed by obedience to God. This is why, when John says things like, “For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments” ( 1 John 5:3), or when Jesus says, “If you love Me, keep My commandments” ( John 14:15), these verses are merely expressing this basic teaching. And in these texts we see that love to God is inseparably linked to obedience to Him. How much clearer could the Word of God be? Just as God doesn’t merely say He loves us but has revealed that love for us by what He has done and still does, God’s people, too, are to show their love to God by their actions.
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