“The person who has my commandments and obeys them is the one who loves me. The one who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and will reveal myself to him.” – John 14:21
“If you obey my commandments, you will remain in my love, just as I have obeyed my Father’s commandments and remain in his love.” – John 15:10
Walking with God means to trust and submit to the Father. Active (willing) obedience to the Father is an expression of our love for God and faith in Him. It is also the way to remain in His love. The Father does not love us more because we are obedient to Him. He does not love us less when we are disobedient. Obedience to the Father helps us experience His love by becoming more aware of it.
Another amazing promise of God is that when we are obedient to the Father, Jesus will manifest himself to us. The fullness of His presence in our life is life-giving and life-changing. The rule and reign (Kingdom) of God accompanies the presence of Jesus.
When Jesus proclaimed the Kingdom of God, He demonstrated it by His own life of complete submission to the Father. When we, as His beloved children, willingly submit to His authority and obey His will, our obedience to God helps make His Kingdom a reality wherever we are.
Now how does obedience fit in to a love-based relationship with God?
We get to know who God really is through living a daily life He tells us to live. And the incredible part? How He tells us to live makes it possible for us to experience a purpose-filled life with peace, contentment, and joy, as well as His love, goodness, and greater intimacy with Him.
There are more reasons than love when we try to submit to the Father’s will. Sometimes we are motivated by a blessing or benefit of obeying Him. Sometimes, our motive is the sense of duty. Sometimes, it is fear of the consequence of disobedience.
Each of these motivations for obedience are related to a particular relational metaphor, and are not altogether bad. The one who obeys to receive a blessing, acknowledges the goodness of our heavenly Father who rewards faithfulness. The one who obeys out of duty, rightly acknowledges God as the sovereign Ruler of the universe who gives the marching orders. The one who obeys out of fear of punishment rightly acknowledges God as the only true Judge, whose justice includes punishing sin.
Jesus says, “If you love me, you will keep my commandment” (John 14:15). We ultimately follow a Person, not a rule book. A purer motivation for obedience flows naturally out of the security of being loved by Him and our desire to please the One we love.