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At the last Passover meal that Jesus had with His disciples, He loved them deeply and wanted to prepare them for what lay ahead. His desire and plan was for them to continue intimate fellowship with Him after His resurrection. The disciples’ needed response to Him was simply to be: “You love me – you obey me”. Their intimacy with Jesus the Lord must result in their spontaneous obedience to Him.

Jesus says: “If you love me, you will obey what I command” (Jn. 14:5). Love is defined by trust and surrender of the will. Jesus himself modelled the life of love to God the Father. The love of His disciples was to be of complete dependence and obedience, a surrender of their will to do as He directs (1 Jn. 3:16). There are Christians who love God so much that they obey Him completely in daily matters as well as in making radical changes to their lives. They quit well-paying jobs for lower salaries in Christian organizations. They share their wealth to meet the needs of the church. They quit their jobs rather than falsify the accounts of the Company they are working for. They forgive someone who hurt them deeply, certain that they can trust God completely with their lives. Jesus the Lord is far more precious and far more loved than personal ambition and pride. For them, the most important things in life are not things. To obey Jesus the Lord is paramount.

All these life-changing experiences to obey Jesus our Lord will not be possible without the guiding presence of the Holy Spirit, our Counsellor. He works in our daily lives in teaching, revealing and interpreting God’s Word, will and ways to us (Jn. 14:16-17, 26). He dwells in our hearts and transforms our lives as we continue in our intimate relationship with our Resurrected Lord Jesus Christ.

Upon reflection, our daily devotions, good works, church attendances must not be mere routine. They are to be the means by which we seek and find God and worship Him. The Apostle Paul’s prayer was for believers in love with the Lord Jesus to “grasp how wide and long and deep is the love of Christ … that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God” (Eph. 3:18-19). The meditation of His sufferings must break us and His Word must cleanses us. His love floods us with His Presence and helps us live to serve Him fully and for His glory

“The world has yet to see what God will do with the man who is fully and wholly consecrated to Him. I will try my utmost to be that man.” (D.L. Moody)