The Key to God’s Heart
“So let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There we will receive His mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it most.” - Hebrews 4:16
What Jesus teaches us during His time on earth is that access to the Father is granted on the basis of love and not on legalism. In John 13, Jesus talks to His disciples about getting to the place where He is going. This is the chapter where He gives them what He calls “a new commandment.”
He tells them to love one another, and if they did, people would recognize them as His disciples. Rather than being known on the basis of their religious legalism as the scribes and Pharisees were known to obsess about, Jesus tells them that love is how we get close to God.
Like the religious elite in His day, there are people today who think that religious protocol, like how you dress, how you wear your hair, or whether you have tattoos, distinguishes you as a child of God. To that, Jesus says we ought to care more about loving people than being fixated on customs and traditions.
What’s most important to God is relationship. Not rituals. Not religion. Relationships. Love is the key to God’s heart. When God decided to send His Son, He did so because of His love. Many of the miracles Jesus performed were performed because He was moved with compassion or His love.
Our job is not to play judge or jury. Our job is to love others. We will all make mistakes. And when we do, we should repent. But the mistakes of others should not keep us from loving them. God still loves them, and so should you. It’s time that we as believers focus more on relationships than ceremonial protocols.
What Jesus teaches us during His time on earth is that access to the Father is granted on the basis of love and not on legalism. In John 13, Jesus talks to His disciples about getting to the place where He is going. This is the chapter where He gives them what He calls “a new commandment.”
He tells them to love one another, and if they did, people would recognize them as His disciples. Rather than being known on the basis of their religious legalism as the scribes and Pharisees were known to obsess about, Jesus tells them that love is how we get close to God.
Like the religious elite in His day, there are people today who think that religious protocol, like how you dress, how you wear your hair, or whether you have tattoos, distinguishes you as a child of God. To that, Jesus says we ought to care more about loving people than being fixated on customs and traditions.
What’s most important to God is relationship. Not rituals. Not religion. Relationships. Love is the key to God’s heart. When God decided to send His Son, He did so because of His love. Many of the miracles Jesus performed were performed because He was moved with compassion or His love.
Our job is not to play judge or jury. Our job is to love others. We will all make mistakes. And when we do, we should repent. But the mistakes of others should not keep us from loving them. God still loves them, and so should you. It’s time that we as believers focus more on relationships than ceremonial protocols.
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