You say you love Jesus.
You mean it.
But then you read this verse, and something shifts.
“If you love me, keep my commandments.”
And suddenly it feels like pressure.
Like now your love has to be proven.
Like you’re being measured.
So what do you do with that?
Do you try harder?
Do you fix everything quickly so you can feel okay again?
Or… is that not what He meant at all?
Let’s see what the Scripture actually says.
“If ye love me, keep my commandments.”
John 14:15 (KJV)
Read that again slowly.
It’s simple. But it goes deeper than it looks.
“If ye love me…”
He starts with love.
Not obedience.
Not correction.
Not a list.
Love.
That matters more than we think.
Because a lot of us reverse it.
We think if we obey enough, then we prove we love Him.
But that’s not what He said.
He didn’t say, “If you keep my commandments, then you love me.”
He said love comes first.
So where is your starting point right now?
Are you trying to prove something, or respond to something?
Because Scripture shows us this clearly:
“We love him, because he first loved us.”
1 John 4:19 (KJV)
Your love didn’t begin with you.
It began with Him.
“keep my commandments.”
This is where things can get misunderstood.
Because “keep” sounds like “perform perfectly.”
But that’s not what it means.
It means to hold onto.
To guard.
To take seriously.
It’s not about never failing.
It’s about what you do with what He said.
Do you treat His words like they matter… or like they’re optional?
There’s a difference.
You can struggle and still be holding onto His words.
And you can look fine on the outside but not care at all inside.
So what does your relationship with His words actually look like right now?
Jesus says something close to this just a few verses later:
“He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me…”
John 14:21 (KJV)
Not perfection.
Possession and direction.
Having them. Holding them.
Do you see the difference?
Now look at where this is happening.
This isn’t random.
Jesus is speaking to His disciples right before the cross.
Everything is about to change.
They won’t have Him physically with them much longer.
Right before this, He says:
“If ye shall ask any thing in my name, I will do it.”
John 14:14 (KJV)
Right after this, He says:
“And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter…”
John 14:16 (KJV)
So this verse sits between promise and help.
Between what He will do… and what He will give.
That changes the tone completely.
This isn’t pressure.
This is preparation.
He’s showing them what love looks like when He’s not right in front of them.
So instead of asking, “Am I doing enough?”
What if the better question is, “What direction is my heart moving in?”
This idea shows up again and again.
“Ye are my friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you.”
John 15:14 (KJV)
That’s not distance.
That’s closeness.
Or this:
“For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments: and his commandments are not grievous.”
1 John 5:3 (KJV)
Not heavy.
Not crushing.
So if it feels heavy, something’s off in how it’s being understood.
And you see it lived out.
Think about Peter.
He loved Jesus.
But he still denied Him.
Three times.
Does that mean he stopped loving Him?
No.
Because after that, Jesus doesn’t confront him with failure.
He asks:
“Lovest thou me?”
John 21:17 (KJV)
Love is still the center.
Always.
So what is this really hitting inside you?
It’s that quiet pressure.
That feeling that your relationship with God is being evaluated.
That you need to get it right… or something’s wrong.
It’s the voice that says:
“If you really loved Him, you wouldn’t struggle like this.”
And then you start trying to fix everything fast.
Trying to clean yourself up.
Trying to close the gap.
Does that sound familiar?
And if you’re honest… has that made your relationship with Him feel closer, or heavier?
Jesus isn’t handing you a test here.
He’s revealing what love actually does.
Real love doesn’t ignore what He says.
It leans toward it.
Even if it’s slow.
Even if it’s messy.
Even if you don’t get it right every time.
This isn’t about performing your way into love.
It’s about responding to the love that’s already there.
And that response shows up in direction.
In what you come back to.
In what you hold onto.
“If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love…”
John 15:10 (KJV)
Abide.
Stay.
Not earn. Not prove.
Stay.
So what would it look like for you to stay instead of prove?
Call to Action: The Question That Demands an AnswerIn Acts 2:37 Peter and the Apostles were asked the question – What Shall We do? And in Acts 2:38 Peter answered, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. For the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call. Do you understand this? After hearing the gospel and believing, they asked what should would do. The answer hasn’t changed friend, Peter clearly gave the answer. The question for you today is, Have you receieved the Holy Spirit Since you believed? If you’re ready to take that step, or you want to learn more about what it means to be born again of water and Spirit, visit: Come, and let the Spirit make you new. |
