Looking back on my early childhood, I can only remember being spanked twice by my mother for disobedience. There was no, “Wait until your father gets home”. Crime and punishment were immediate and inseparable. What amazes me to this day is that my disobedience ceased; not because of fear of punishment, but because of my love for my parents and their love for me. John describes how that applies to our relationship with God and our obedience to Him. “We know how much God loves us and we have put our trust in his love. God is love, and all who live in love live in God, and God lives in them. And as we live in God, our love grows more perfect. So we will not be afraid on the day of judgment, but we can face him with confidence because we live like Jesus here in this world. Such love has no fear, because perfect love expels all fear. If we are afraid, it is for fear of punishment, and this shows that we have not fully experienced his perfect love. We love each other because he loved us first.” (1 John 4:16-19)
Perfect love begins with God’s love for us described in the familiar words of John 3:16 and it is manifest in our life when we accept it and give God our love in return. Jesus teaches that love is the key to obeying God’s law. “Jesus replied, ‘You must love the Lord your God with all you heart, all your soul, and all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. A second is equally important: Love your neighbor as yourself. The entire law and all the demands of the prophets are based on these two commandments.’” (Matthew 22:37-40) Paul gives us a clue as to why love is the key to obedience to God’s law when he wrote, “Love does no wrong to others, so love fulfills the requirements of God’s law.” (Romans 13:10)
Our love of God and others from within us is not only the key to obedience; it is the key to effective prayer; it is the key to meaningful worship; it is the key to sharing the good news of the Gospel; it is the key to every relationship; and we will find at the end of our tour of duty here on earth that God’s perfect love in us is the key to heaven’s gates.