Liz’s Morning Devotional: Scripture selected from Upper Room
May 23, 2022
Read John 14:15-24
15 “If you love me, you will keep my commandments. 16 I will ask the Father, and he will send another Companion, who will be with you forever. 17 This Companion is the Spirit of Truth, whom the world can’t receive because it neither sees him nor recognizes him. You know him, because he lives with you and will be with you. 18 “I won’t leave you as orphans. I will come to you. 19 Soon the world will no longer see me, but you will see me. Because I live, you will live too. 20 On that day you will know that I am in my Father, you are in me, and I am in you. 21 Whoever has my commandments and keeps them loves me. Whoever loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love them and reveal myself to them.” 22 Then Judas (not Judas Iscariot) said, “But, Lord, why do you intend to show yourself to us and not to the world?” 23 Jesus replied, “Anyone who loves me will obey my teaching. My Father will love them, and we will come to them and make our home with them. 24 Anyone who does not love me will not obey my teaching. These words you hear are not my own; they belong to the Father who sent me.
Good Morning, Anyone who loves Jesus will obey His teaching.
When we consider God as our parent, we can look to our earthly experiences as both a parent and as a child. I marvel at how these two relationships are held together in perfect tension. As a child, we begin our lives wanting to please our parents in almost every facet of our lives. Then, we move through our teenage years when we want to prove ourselves by often contradicting whatever is the perceived expectation.
As young adults, we start to mellow out and start to realize that maybe our parents were actually right (at least some of the time) and that they truly love us and want what is best for us. Sometimes those rules that seemed ridiculous to a rebellious teenager were simply put in place in an attempt to protect us (from ourselves).
When the child becomes a parent, our hearts and minds are suddenly opened to seeing things through a new lens. How can we offer our children the opportunity to discover all that is wonderful in the world while protecting them from what is evil? We work to establish a relationship with our children through which we gradually release them to their own choices.
God is our parent and the time we spend on earth as children and as parents give us insight into our Creator’s guidelines. The most important aspect is the relationship we nurture over years of time together. Does God allow us to question things? Is God saddened when we create problems for ourselves? Of course. God is the ever-patient parent waiting for us to understand that the commandments are there to protect us from all that is evil in the world. God loves us regardless of our sins and is ready to welcome all who accept and follow Christ with open arms.
Loving and Gracious God, Thank You for loving us. Sometimes we are stubborn and want to do things our own way. Thank you for allowing us to grow by making mistakes. In Jesus’ name, we pray. Amen
Thought for the day: I show my love for God when I follow God’s commands.
Love God with all of your heart, soul, and mind! Pastor Liz
Comments