ESOCS Devotional 7 June 2025 – Obedience is Not a Burden
MEMORY VERSE: “For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments: and his commandments are not grievous.” 1 John 5:3
TEXT: 1 JOHN 5:1-15
Whoever believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God, and everyone who loves Him who begot also loves him who is begotten of Him. 2 By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and keep His commandments. 3 For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments. And His commandments are not burdensome. 4 For whatever is born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith. 5 Who is he who overcomes the world, but he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?
6 This is He who came by water and blood—Jesus Christ; not only by water, but by water and blood. And it is the Spirit who bears witness, because the Spirit is truth. 7 For there are three that bear witness in heaven: the Father, the Word, and the Holy Spirit; and these three are one. 8 And there are three that bear witness on earth: the Spirit, the water, and the blood; and these three agree as one.
9 If we receive the witness of men, the witness of God is greater; for this is the witness of God which He has testified of His Son. 10 He who believes in the Son of God has the witness in himself; he who does not believe God has made Him a liar, because he has not believed the testimony that God has given of His Son. 11 And this is the testimony: that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. 12 He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life. 13 These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life, and that you may continue to believe in the name of the Son of God.
14 Now this is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. 15 And if we know that He hears us, whatever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we have asked of Him.
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Suppose you are traveling to the home of a friend you had never visited before but your friend has given you detailed directions on how to get to his home. As you are traveling, you tell your spouse that you don’t need the directions. You say, “I think I know a short cut.” Even though your spouse protests and says it is a foolish move, you go your own way.
An hour later you are hopelessly lost. And you say, “This was a stupid idea to come see this friend anyway. I never really liked him and I don’t think he ever really liked me.” What is your spouse going to say? Most likely, your spouse will indicate that you are a fool. You disregarded the directions and now you want to blame the one who gave those directions to you. This is the way it is with God’s commands. He has given His commands to help us find the life we were created to live. Obeying God’s commands is not a burden; it is the smart thing to do. If we ignore them, we ought not to blame Him for the consequences we face in our lives.
However, saying God’s commands are not burdensome is not the same as saying obedience is easy. We live in a world that does its best to prevent us from glorifying God. John has already warned us: “For everything in the world: the cravings of sinful man, the lust of his eyes and the boasting of what he has and does comes not from the Father, but from the world” (1 John 2:15).
The world makes obedience difficult because it is largely counter-Christianity. The world entices us with power but the Bible calls us to servanthood. The world tells us to evaluate relationships on the basis of what you can get from that relationship; God calls us to look at what we can give. The world encourages us to indulge our appetites (for sex, food, power, prestige and other indulgences); God tells us to control our appetites and be good stewards of what we have received. The world tells us we can make the world better on our own; God says, “You’ve got to be kidding.” Dearly beloved, the choice is yours, choose ye whom ye shall obey (Joshua 24:15).
CHALLENGES
- How much do you value obedience to the commandments of God? Think about it.
PRAYER POINT
- Lord, my heart cry is to always obey you. May this always be the burden of my heart, in Jesus name. Amen.
FURTHER READING: Genesis 1:26-End; Lamentation 2:1-End; John 6:52-End
ESOCS Devotional 7 June 2025
