Day 14
John 14:23-24
23 Jesus replied, “Anyone who loves me will obey my teaching. My Father will love them, and we will come to them and make our home with them. 24 Anyone who does not love me will not obey my teaching. These words you hear are not my own; they belong to the Father who sent me.
In scripture, our obedience and God’s love always go hand in hand. However, we can’t manipulate God’s affection with our actions. Love is not just what God does. It is who he is. We may have had relationships with families or friends where we always had to perform or live up to a certain standard to feel loved or accepted, but that simply isn’t the case with God. His request for our obedience is not a prerequisite for his love. It is an invitation to align with Christ's character and abundant life in his presence. Obedience draws us into intimacy with God so we can receive the love that exists in him. How so? Through our decision to obey God, we realize we can’t do it alone. That’s why after Jesus washes the disciple’s feet and commands them to love like him, he explains that they will have the power to obey the command through the Holy Spirit (John 14:16). He says your ability to obey doesn’t come from your own works. It is determined by your level of intimacy with the father. As Jesus speaks of his relationship and oneness with God, he gives them a model of true intimacy. In verse 10, he says, “Do you not believe that I am in the Father, and the Father is in Me?” Jesus is not just saying, “Do what I say.” He’s saying be who I am! You decide to obey, but God empowers you to follow through by his Spirit. Obedience can feel like such an oppressive idea. However, it is really a loving invitation. Because God doesn’t need anything from us to be God, we know that obedience to him is always for our good. God’s commandments are from love and for love. What greater expression of love is there than promising to be not just with us but IN us forever? We see a beautiful picture of how God understands the connection between obedience and intimacy in verse 23, where scripture says, “Anyone who loves me will obey my teaching.
My Father will love them, and we will come to them and make our home with them.” Rather than obedience being an effort to clean up our lives and make God comfortable, when we decide to obey and ask God for grace to do so, the Holy Spirit gently settles into the home of our lives. He blows the wind of truth to align us to everything we were created to be in God. He instructs us and helps us carry out the instructions. He directs us and then helps us follow the path. He corrects us and then picks us up out of shame into courage. The Spirit of God is the living, moving manifestation of the love of God in our lives. His purpose is to completely remodel the home of our lives because the new life is not a trick. It’s a transformation. As he renovates us, our obedience flows from intimacy with the one who is actively building our holy home.
Next Steps
Read John chapter 14 and take notes, making observations and asking questions as you read.
Mediate on 1 or 2 verses that stood out to you. Focus on what they reveal about God and how the Spirit is inviting you to respond. Find a helpful guide to biblical meditation here.
Write down whatever the Holy Spirit puts on your heart.
Reflection Questions
Why might scripture use the word “home” to describe how God dwells within us when we obey him?
What ideas have you held about obedience to God in the past that this scripture challenges or confirms?
If we’ve ever felt disappointed in God for not showing up or coming through in the way we expected, we were making our relationship with him transactional— I obey, you bless me. Where did you learn to do that? Why doesn’t that work with God?
Prayer Points
God, help me to better understand the length, depth, and breadth of your love for me and relate with you from that place of revelation.
Spirit of the living God, give me the grace (empowerment) to obey you consistently so that my intimacy with you can grow constantly.
Spirit of God, transform my mind with your truth. Set me free from every false mindset that I’ve carried into my relationship with you. I want to know you for who you really are.
