(Jhn) 14:12, 15, 24, 31 CJB “Yes, indeed! I tell you that whoever trusts in me will also do the works I do! Indeed, he will do greater ones, because I am going to the Father. “If you love me, you will keep my commands; Someone who doesn’t love me doesn’t keep my words — and the word you are hearing is not my own but that of the Father who sent me. rather, this is happening so that the world may know that I love the Father, and that I do as the Father has commanded me. “Get up! Let’s get going!”

Living as Jesus lived is one of the clearest evidences that we belong to Him. Jesus did not merely claim to love His Father. He demonstrated that love through complete obedience. In John 14, Jesus connects love and obedience so closely that we cannot honestly separate them.

“If you love me, you will keep my commands.”

That is straightforward.

We are saved by grace through faith, not by our obedience. Yet genuine faith produces obedience. A man who belongs to Jesus should increasingly begin to think, love, serve, and live like Jesus.

Living as Jesus Lived Means Obeying Like Jesus

Jesus said the world would know that He loved the Father because He did what the Father commanded Him.

Think about that.

Jesus’ obedience was not selective.

He did not obey when it was convenient and ignore the Father when obedience became costly.

His obedience eventually led Him to the cross.

Jesus humbled Himself, served others, loved sacrificially, showed grace and mercy, and ultimately laid down His life according to the Father’s will.

That is the character into which God is conforming His children.

Romans 8:29 describes Jesus as the firstborn among many brothers. God is building a family that increasingly reflects the character of His Son.

Therefore, living as Jesus lived means increasingly demonstrating His unconditional and sacrificial love through humility, grace, mercy, service, and obedience.

But character is only part of the picture.

Doing the Work Jesus Commanded

Jesus also said: “Whoever trusts in me will also do the works I do.”

Jesus came with a mission from the Father. He proclaimed truth, called people to repentance and faith, made disciples, and ultimately accomplished salvation through His death and resurrection.

We cannot repeat His saving work.

Only Jesus could provide the sacrifice for sin.

But He has entrusted His followers with proclaiming what He accomplished.

Before ascending to the Father, Jesus commanded His disciples to go and make disciples of all nations, teaching them to obey everything He commanded.

That commission belongs to us.

We proclaim Jesus.

We call people to repentance and faith.

We teach believers to obey Him.

We help others become disciples who make disciples.

The mission of Jesus continues through the people of Jesus.

Our proclamation must also be accompanied by His character. We cannot faithfully communicate the message of Jesus while consistently living contrary to the life of Jesus.

Truth and character belong together.

Mission and obedience belong together.

Love and action belong together.

Does Your Life Give Evidence That You Love Jesus?

Jesus gives us a serious warning: “Someone who doesn’t love me doesn’t keep my words.”

That should cause every Christian man to examine himself.

Not, “Have I obeyed perfectly?”

None of us has.

The better question is:

Is obedience to Jesus increasingly becoming the direction of my life?

Am I becoming more like Him?

Am I doing what He commanded?

Am I participating in His mission to make disciples?

A persistent refusal to obey Christ, disregard for His commands, and indifference toward His disciple-making mission should never give someone confidence that everything is spiritually well.

Our obedience does not save us.

But obedience is evidence that we love the One who does.

Run Today’s Play

Ask yourself two questions today:

Where do I need to become more like Jesus?

And:

Who am I helping become a disciple of Jesus?

Choose one command of Christ you know you need to obey more faithfully, then act on it today.

Next, identify one person you can intentionally help move closer to Jesus.

Men, love for Jesus is more than words.

Living as Jesus lived means becoming like Jesus in character while doing the work Jesus commanded.

Jesus loved His Father, obeyed His Father, and completed the work His Father gave Him.

If we love Jesus, we should desire to do the same.