If Ye Keep My Commandments, Ye Shall Abide In My Love--John 15:10
In our former meditation reference
was made to the entrance into a life of rest and strength which
has often come through a true insight into the personal love of
Christ, and the assurance that that love indeed meant that He
would keep the soul. In connection with that transition, and the
faith that sees and accepts it, the word surrender or consecration
is frequently used. The soul sees that it cannot claim the keeping
of this wonderful love unless it yields itself to a life of entire
obedience. It sees too that the faith that can trust Christ for
keeping from sinning must prove its sincerity by venturing at
once to trust Him for strength to obey. In that faith it dares
to give up and cut off everything that has hitherto hindered it,
and to promise and expect to live a life that is well pleasing
to God.
This is the thought we have here
now in our Saviour's teaching. After having in the words, "Abide
in my love," spoken of a life in His love as a necessity,
because it is at once a possibility and an obligation, He states
what its one condition is: "If ye keep my commandments,
ye shall abide in my love." This is surely not meant
to close the door to the abode of His love which he had just opened
up. Not in the most distant way does it suggest the thought which
some are too ready to entertain, that as we cannot keep His commandments,
we cannot abide in His love. No; the precept is a promise: "Abide
in my love," could not be a precept if it were not a promise.
And so the instruction as to the way through this open door points
to no unattainable ideal; the love that invites to her blessed
abode reaches out the hand, and enables us to keep the commandments.
Let us not fear, in the strength of our ascended Lord, to take
the vow of obedience, and give ourselves to the keeping of His
commandments. Through His will, loved and done, lies the path
to His love.
Only let us understand well what
it means. It refers to our performance of all that we know to
be God's will. There may be things doubtful, of which we are not
sure. A sin of ignorance has still the nature of sin in it. There
may be involuntary sins, which rise up in the flesh, which we
cannot control or overcome. With regard to these God will deal
in due tome in the way of searching and humbling, and if we be
simple and faithful, give us larger deliverance than we dare expect.
But all this may be found in a truly obedient soul. Obedience
has reference to the positive keeping of the commandments of our
Lord, and the performance of His will in everything in which we
know it. This is a possible degree of grace, and it is the acceptance
in Christ's strength of such obedience as the purpose of our heart,
of which our Saviour speaks here. Faith in Christ as our Vine,
in His enabling and sanctifying power, fits us for this obedience
of faith, and secures a life of abiding in His love.
If ye keep My commandments, ye
shall abide in My love--It is the heavenly Vine unfolding
the mystery of the life He gives. It is to those abiding in Him
to whom He opens up the secret of the full abiding in His love.
It is the wholehearted surrender in everything to do His will,
that gives access to a life in the abiding enjoyment of His love.
Obey and abide. Gracious
Lord, teach me this lesson, that it is only through knowing Thy
will one can know Thy heart, and only through doing that will
one can abide in Thy love. Lord, teach me that as worthless as
is the doing in my own strength, so essential and absolutely indispensable
is the doing of faith in Thy strength, if I would abide in Thy
love.
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