Love: The Greatest Act Of Obedience.

In the second book of John there exists only one chapter. What stands out in his letter is the the exhortation to love.
Here is an excerpt from vs 4-8, NIV:

⁴ It has given me great joy to find some of your children walking in the truth, just as the Father commanded us. ⁵ And now, dear lady, I am not writing you a new command but one we have had from the beginning. I ask that we love one another. ⁶ And this is love: that we walk in obedience to his commands. As you have heard from the beginning, his command is that you walk in love.

⁷ I say this because many deceivers, who do not acknowledge Jesus Christ as coming in the flesh, have gone out into the world. Any such person is the deceiver and the antichrist. ⁸ Watch out that you do not lose what we^[a] have worked for, but that you may be rewarded fully.

It is amazing to see the comparison to obedience and love. If we do not obey the command to love we are in turn signing our our spiritual death warrants, as “obedience is better than sacrifice” (1 Sam 15:22 – But Samuel replied: “Does the Lord delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as much as in obeying the Lord? To obey is better than sacrifice, and to heed is better than the fat of rams.). Our initial understanding is that we obey the commandments but God’s greatest desire is that we love Him and love one another. There is no way we can transgress against Him or one another if our hearts, minds, motives and actions are driven by love.

In Matthew 24, as Jesus gives an account of the end times, He notes that the love of many will grow cold and wickedness would increase. This is indeed the hour that we live in. Let us make that effort to draw nearer to Christ with the help of the Holy Spirit so that the love of God may be manifest in our lives and we indeed become the lamp that shows the way to God’s kingdom.

2022 is going to be one of the most significant years in human history. What we have gone through in the last 2 years will pale in comparison, both by natural events as well as man-made events. How we succeed to navigate the forthcoming times will depend solely on our obedience to God, and that obedience to His command to love, especially our enemies and those who will persecute us. May He stir up the desire in all of us to love Him and one another to the very end. Be blessed and be a blessing!