By faith in God and Jesus Christ, John assures us that keeping Jesus’ commands is not difficult. Specifically, Scripture says, “Loving God means keeping his commandments, and his commandments are not burdensome" (1 Jn. 5:3, NLT). Burdensome means that something is heavy, oppressive, or challenging. Loving the Lord should not be any of these things because He made the ultimate sacrifice to save humanity from itself. The Lord took on the burdens of carrying the entire human race on His back, all the way to death on the cross.
Therefore, loving each other should not be challenging because of His sacrifice and because it is a command from the Lord, who said, "If you love Me, you will keep My commandments" (Jn. 14:15). When we choose to follow the Lord, a precondition is to keep His commandments.
It is for freedom that Christ set us free and gave us the means (abilities and gifts) to choose the right path. So, we should not have to ask, “Who will ascend into heaven?” The righteousness of God is revealed; so, we do not have to cross the sea to find an evangelist to preach the Gospel Message of Salvation before we decide to obey His commandments. How many times does someone need to say, “love the Lord with all your heart and your neighbor as well”? Jesus said, “My yoke is easy and my burden is light” (Matt. 11:30). There is power in the name of Jesus, and our faith in Him, combined with our commitment to following the Word of God, empowers and motivates us to keep His commandments.
The level of our commitment inspires a desire to keep God’s commandments, and when this desire is present, it is not a burden. Jesus never promises that obeying him would be easy, and the hard work and self-discipline of serving Christ are not a burden to those who love him. When the load feels heavy, we can trust Him to renew our strength or carry us when we grow weary. You cannot be a Christian and not have a love for God; your life, words, and actions should reflect that love. To serve God with all our strength, we cannot pick and choose what spiritual food we want to eat, nor can we decide what outfit to wear.
We must eat the fruit of the Spirit and dress in the whole armor of God. True believers worship God in Spirit and truth, trusting that His commandments work together for the good. True believers realize that it is not all about them: not about their abilities, talents, and strengths. A true believer’s faith and actions are different! When we accept Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, we gain a new power in the Holy Spirit. This new power, the Holy Spirit, changes and strengthens us to meet challenges, not make excuses. This power maintains our faith, which overcomes the world.
Minister Nettie Pennington, is Associate Minister at Springfield MB Church in Tate County, Miss.
