Love that Obeys: The True Meaning of John 14:15

When Love Becomes a Verb

I remember a conversation with my grandmother, years ago, that transformed my understanding of love and obedience. She told me that when my grandfather was alive, he used to ask her to always keep his tools in the same place in the garage. "It wasn't because he was controlling," she explained with a nostalgic smile, "but because he knew I cared enough to remember what was important to him. Each tool in the right place was my way of saying 'I love you' without words."

How many times do we say "I love God" with our lips, but our actions tell a completely different story? What does it really mean to love God in our daily actions? This is not just an abstract theological question - it is the challenge we face every time we need to choose between what is convenient and what is right.

Think of that moment at work when you could easily omit information to close a deal. Or in that relationship where it would be so simple to give in to temptation, after all, "no one will know." It is precisely in these everyday, seemingly insignificant moments that Jesus invites us to demonstrate our love for Him.

The Context of a Farewell

When Jesus spoke the words "If you love me, keep my commandments" in John 14:15, He was living through one of the most tense moments of His earthly ministry. Imagine the scene: the upper room, the Last Supper had just taken place, and the disciples were beginning to realize that something serious was about to happen. The air was heavy with the anticipation of farewell.

In the Jewish culture of the time, keeping the commandments was at the heart of religious identity. But Jesus was doing something revolutionary: He was not simply repeating the Mosaic law or adding more rules to the burden that the Pharisees had already created. He was completely redefining what it means to obey God.

The Greek word used for "commandments" here (entolas) does not refer merely to a list of prohibitive rules. Jesus was speaking about His complete teachings - the Sermon on the Mount, the parables about the Kingdom, the principles of love and grace that He had demonstrated in every interaction. It was an invitation to a lifestyle, not a legal code.

Love Is Not a Feeling, It Is a Decision

The central message of John 14:15 challenges our modern culture that romanticizes love as an uncontrollable feeling. Jesus was saying something quite different: true love is a choice that manifests in action.

Think of a garden. You can say you love your plants as much as you want, but if you never water them, if you never pull the weeds, if you never fertilize the soil - your words are empty. The garden will wilt regardless of the intensity of your feelings. Similarly, our love for God cannot live only in the realm of Sunday emotions or worship songs that give us goosebumps.

This truth becomes especially relevant when we face periods of spiritual drought. There will be days when you do not "feel" God's presence. There will be seasons when worship feels mechanical and prayer, a monologue without response. It is precisely in those moments that obedience reveals the authenticity of our love. Keeping Jesus' commandments when it is difficult, when there is no immediate emotional reward, is the purest love we can offer.

A young missionary recently told me about her first months in a challenging field. "I no longer felt that 'fire' that brought me here," she confessed. "But I kept serving, I kept loving those people, I kept praying even when it seemed useless. And I realized I was learning a deeper kind of love - not based on feelings, but on commitment."

The Transformation That Comes from Within

There is something profoundly transformative about choosing to obey God. It is not a transformation that comes from the outside in, like putting on new clothes. It is something that happens at the core of our being.

When we decide to forgive someone who has deeply hurt us - not because we feel like it, but because Jesus commanded us to forgive - something breaks inside us. The chains of bitterness begin to loosen. When we choose to be generous even when our bank account is in the red, because we trust the principle that "it is more blessed to give than to receive" (Acts 20:35), our perspective on security and provision begins to change.

Obedience to Christ's commandments is not a burden we carry; it is the path through which He transforms us. Every time we choose His ways over our own, we allow the Holy Spirit to sculpt a little more of Christ in us.

Putting Love into Practice

But how does this translate into our real lives, with their commitments, challenges, and limitations? Let me share some concrete ways to live this truth:

1. Reflect on Priorities with Brutal Honesty

Take a notebook today and do a sincere exercise: where do your time and money really go? Because these two things reveal our true priorities better than our words ever could.

If you say you love God but never have time for His Word, yet manage to keep up with three series simultaneously - there is a misalignment between your words and actions. If you say you love your neighbor but have never thought of using your financial resources to help someone in need - your actions are contradicting you.

The good news is that God is not looking for perfection, but direction. He wants to see our genuine desire to align our lives with His commandments, even if it is one step at a time.

2. Develop Intentional Spiritual Habits

Jesus said to keep His commandments - and you cannot keep what you do not know. Create a realistic Bible reading plan focused specifically on the teachings of Jesus. Start with the Gospels, read slowly, take notes on the commandments you find.

But don’t stop at reading. Each week, choose a specific commandment to practice. One week could be "do not judge" (Matthew 7:1). Another could be "love your enemies" (Matthew 5:44). Make it concrete: How does this commandment apply to my situation with that difficult colleague? How does it change my response to that person who betrayed me?

3. Serve Others as an Expression of Love for God

Jesus was clear: "Inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these my brethren, you did it to me" (Matthew 25:40). Our love for God always manifests in love for others.

Find a tangible way to serve your community this month. It could be as simple as visiting a nursing home weekly, preparing meals for families in need, or using your professional skills to help a Christian NGO. The important thing is not the magnitude of the service, but the motivation: doing it as an act of obedience and love for Jesus.

4. Establish Constant Dialogue with God

Obedience does not flourish in isolation from God, but in intimacy with Him. Jesus promised that those who keep His commandments will remain in His love (John 15:10). It is a cycle: prayer brings us closer to God, this closeness strengthens us to obey, and obedience deepens our relationship.

Set aside daily time - even if it’s just 15 minutes at first - to talk honestly with God. Ask for help to obey. Confess where you have failed. Thank Him for the grace that covers your imperfections. This constant conversation keeps our hearts aligned with the heart of God.

5. Keep a Spiritual Growth Journal

Here is a practice that has been transformative for many Christians: keep a journal where you record your moments of obedience and disobedience, without judgment, just honesty.

"Today I was tempted to lie about why I didn’t finish the project. I chose to be honest, even knowing it would be uncomfortable. God gave me courage." Or: "I lost my patience with my children today. I did not demonstrate the patient love that Christ has for me. I need to ask for their forgiveness tomorrow."

This record is not to generate guilt, but awareness. Over time, you will begin to see patterns - areas where God is working in you, victories that would have gone unnoticed, and places where you still need transformation.

Love Is Not Burdensome

The apostle John, who recorded Jesus' words in John 14:15, would later write in his first letter: "For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments. And His commandments are not burdensome" (1 John 5:3). At first glance, this may seem contradictory. How can commandments not be burdensome when it sometimes feels so hard to obey?

The answer lies in the very nature of love. When you deeply love someone, the things you do for that person do not feel like impossible sacrifices - they are natural expressions of your love. A mother wakes up in the middle of the night to feed her baby not because it is easy, but because love makes the burden light.

Similarly, when our love for Christ matures, His commandments cease to be external obligations and become internal desires. We do not lie because we want to please God. We do not hold grudges because we have experienced His grace. We do not live to accumulate treasures on earth because our hearts are already in heaven.

Romans 13:10 reminds us that "love is the fulfillment of the law." When we truly love, we do not need a list of rules telling us what to do - love already guides us in the right direction.

Abiding in the Love of Christ

Jesus expanded on this theme in John 15:10 saying: "If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love; just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in His love." Here is a beautiful truth: Jesus Himself modeled for us what it means to love through obedience.

Every moment of His life was a choice to obey the Father, culminating in Gethsemane when He prayed "not my will, but Yours be done" (Luke 22:42). And it was through this supreme obedience that we were saved.

Are you struggling with any specific commandment of Christ today? Perhaps it is the command to forgive. Maybe it is the call to sexual purity in a culture that mocks chastity. Perhaps it is the command not to worry when your circumstances seem overwhelming.

Whatever your struggle, remember: you are not trying to earn God's love through obedience. You already have His love. Obedience is simply the way you consciously remain in that love, experiencing its fullness and transformative power.

An Invitation to Authentic Living

So where does this leave us? How can you demonstrate love for God through your actions in the coming weeks? This is not a rhetorical question - it is an invitation to action.

Love for God is not a mystical feeling we only experience during especially anointed services. It is not an emotion that depends on favorable circumstances. It is a daily choice, sometimes moment by moment, to align our will with the will of Christ.

When you wake up tomorrow, even before getting out of bed, you will already have a choice: to start the day connected with God or to dive immediately into anxieties and distractions? Throughout the day, you will face dozens of small decisions that either demonstrate obedient love to Christ or reveal our tendency to live for ourselves.

But here is the wonder of the gospel: even when we fail - and we all fail - God's grace meets us. Our imperfect obedience does not invalidate His perfect love. Each new day is a new opportunity to say "yes" to Jesus, to choose His ways, to demonstrate that our love for Him is more than pretty words.

I begin this devotional by sharing my grandmother's story and her tools. Let me close with this image: God did not give us His commandments as tools we need to organize perfectly to earn His love. He gave us His commandments as tools we can use to build a life that reflects His love to the world.

Every act of obedience is a brick laid, building something beautiful and eternal. Every choice to follow Christ, even when it is hard, is a declaration of love more eloquent than a thousand words.

May we be people who not only say "Lord, Lord," but who do the will of the Father (Matthew 7:21). May our love be demonstrated not in empty sentimentality, but in radical obedience. And may, in the end, when we see Jesus face to face, we hear His words: "Well done, good and faithful servant" (Matthew 25:21).

Today, choose one commandment of Christ. Just one. And live it with intention. Share your journey with a friend who can encourage you. And watch how God uses your obedience, however imperfect it may be, to transform you into the image of Christ.

After all, that is exactly what it means to love God: to allow Him to transform our love into action, our feelings into faithfulness, and our words into a life that proclaims His love to the world.