Daily Devotions
Keeping Jesus' Word
Reading for November 17th: Acts 11-13
Weekly reading for November 15-21: John 11-15
"If anyone loves me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him."
John 14:23
What does it mean to "keep" Jesus' word? I think we would all say "obey," and that is true, but I want us to think a little deeper about what Jesus is saying so that we will appreciate obedience even more.
If I were to give you something valuable and asked you to keep it for me, what would you understand me to be saying? You would think I was asking you to maintain or preserve that thing. You would want to take that thing and put it in a place that would be safe, where it would not be easily corrupted or disturbed. If it were something of considerable monetary value, you might think in terms of guarding and protecting it. You would want to put it in a secure place like a safety deposit box in the bank or in a wall safe at home.
Think about obedience in this way. By obeying Jesus' word, we are, in effect, preserving and guarding and protecting that word. That's the net effect of obedience. When people see Jesus' words demonstrated to them in tangible, concrete ways in your life, you have preserved the precious words of Jesus for them. By preserving Jesus' words, you have preserved Jesus for your generation to both see Him and know Him.
And, with this concept in mind, think about how the promise in John 14:23 reads... By keeping Jesus' words through obedience, you are not only preserving Jesus for your generation, you are in a profound way preserving your relationship with Jesus. Jesus said that when we protect Jesus' word through obedience, that "my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him."
O Father, may you and your Son live in me as I seek to protect your Son's words in practical acts of obedience this very day.
