Assurance We’re Following God
By Andrea Chatelain
“‘Whoever has My commands and keeps them is the one who loves Me. The one who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I too will love them and show Myself to them.’” John 14:21
When our hearts belong to Jesus, our actions follow.
My son can identify the strangest creatures at the zoo even if he’s never seen them in person. You see, He’s studied them on nature shows and memorized their characteristics. Depending on the stripes or spots, he shouts out its name.
So how do we identify ourselves? How do we know if the love of God is in us? Well, our stripes start to mimic Jesus’ as we obey His commands.
1 John 2:6 says if we claim to follow Christ, we must accurately reflect our Savior. In order to do so, we need to study how He lived, what His priorities were, and how He treated people. Scripture reveals His identity and character—He’s the image of the invisible God and lived a life of perfect servanthood. He selflessly gave His time, comfort, knowledge, forgiveness, love, even His life for all mankind.
Therefore, if we’re demonstrating sacrificial love, we’re on the right track.
But this way of life doesn’t come from striving. Just like the zoo giraffes give birth to giraffes, if we’re in Christ, we’ve been “born again” and given God’s Holy Spirit. As we live in relationship with Him, God reveals more of Himself, His love, and guidance to us, and enables us to extend His goodness to others. His voice has called me to forgive when I would’ve held a grudge, hug instead of yell, and act with boldness when I preferred to shrink back.
As we continue to grow closer to Jesus, our lives will naturally produce the same servanthood mentality. Ask God to fill you with His Spirit so you can live faithfully. Ask Him where He’s calling you to love others in His name and then do so with the power He provides.
Andrea Chatelain’s mission is to meet women in their struggles and love them forward with God’s truth. She's part of the Wholly Loved Ministries team, is a Midwest mom of three, faith and family writer, and college English instructor to immigrants and refugees. It’s her joy to lead Bible studies in her neighborhood, church, and community because she believes Jesus transforms lives when His people boldly seek Him. Her writing reflects her love for Jesus and heart for fellow believers. Connect with Andrea more online at www.afruitfulwoman.com.
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Originally published Tuesday, 14 April 2020.
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