[Jesus said] "If you love me, you will keep my commandments…They who have my commandments and keep them are those who love me…” John 14:15, 21a
Dear Friends in Christ,
Sometimes we are so delighted by a friend or family member that we can’t wait to be together and to be generous. Other times, we’re not so happy, perhaps a little burdened, or with our patience stretched. Yet we still go, we’re still there, we’re still willing to give because we have a commitment inside. We’ve made a decision to be in relationship and give our support regardless of the challenges. If we’re true to that commitment, we also let that decision form and shape our hearts and draw our affections. We make the effort to take joy in the other, and in so doing, we feed and nourish our commitment. Perhaps all the joy and affection came first, but without the commitment, the affection dries up, and the relationship withers. But when the love and affection support a commitment, then the relationship flourishes. So it is with our relationship with God.
Sometimes the love comes first, and that love draws us closer to God and to a decision to give ourselves fully to God. Sometimes the decision comes first, and the disciplines of prayer and worship and study and service all open us up to a deeper love of God. Either way, our relationship with God thrives and flourishes when we cultivate and open ourselves to both love and obedience, affection and discipline, devotion and commitment. These are crucial starting points to a life with God.
How are you nourishing both your devotion and commitment to God in Jesus Christ? What habits of life draw you closer to God? How have you brought your inner life to God in prayer? What joys and sorrows have you shared with God? How have you made time to listen for God’s love for you? The matching virtues of devotion and commitment help us grow deeper in Christ, and open us to the life that our creator dreams for us—the life that is truly living.
Yours in Christ,
-Tom