"And in this we are knowing that we have come to know Him, if His commands we may be keeping."
-Very simple litmus test, this. Do I want to know if I have eternal life? Want to know for sure that I am in a right relationship with the Lord? It’s quite simple. Am I keeping His commands? Am I doing the things He has told us to do? Am I not doing the things which He has told us not to do? That’s all it takes, John says. Oh do this abominable thing which I hate, says the Lord (Jeremiah 44.4, cf Zechariah 8.17, Isaiah 61.8, Malachi 2.16).
-But that which we hold in our hands is the Word of the Lord. All Scriipture is inspired by Him, God-breathed (2Timothy 3.16). These are the very words of almighty God, our God. They are true. Diligently keep them, guard them, observe them carefully, obey them, do not turn aside from them to the right or to the left, listen to them, write them in stone (Deuteronomy 27.8) and impress them on your heart and on your soul, bind them on your hand and wear them on your forehead (Deuteronomy 11.18), write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates (Deuteronomy 11.20), teach them to your children and to your grandchildren (Deuteronomy 4.9), let them be on your lips when you lie down and when you rise up and wherever you go (Deuteronomy 11.19), be absorbed in them (1Timothy 4.15) - for it is not an idle word word for you; indeed it is your life (Deuteronomy 32.47). Give heed to them - and give heed to yourself and keep your soul diligently, so that you do not forget these things and they do not depart from your heart all the days of your life (Deuteronomy 4.9). Herein is found a heart that has truly come to know the One Who IS the Word...
-But to be sure, again we’re not talking about life-sucking joy-stealing works-based righteousness with God. We cannot earn or maintain right standing with Him by trying to obey the law. No, this is a matter of the heart, it starts with the heart. A heart which is truly His, which has turned back to Him and has trusted in His provision for our sin, will naturally want to do the things which please Him, and increasingly so (2Corinthians 5.9, Colossians 1.10, 2Timothy 2.4, Hebrews 11.6, 1John 3.22). Like Christ Himself (John 8.29). This is the theme which redounds throughout Scripture. We are wired for pleasure, because we are made in His image. God is a pleasure-seeking God, the consummate hedonist if there ever was one - not in the sense that pleasure is ultimate. God is ultimate. But the pursuit and experience of pleasure, the mass-production of joy, is central to Who He is. he Lord does what He pleases (Psalm 135.6). He makes all manner of things which are pleasing, which bring pleasure (cf Genesis 2.9), and He commands that we would find our highest joy and pleasure in Him - truly in His presence alone is fulness of joy. In His right hand are pleasures forever. And His words, His commands, they are a delight to our heart (Psalm 1.2, 19.7-10, 119.16; Jeremiah 15.16), sweeter than honey (Psalm 119.103). His commands are in no way burdensome, they are no buzz-kill joy-stealers, but note that we learn to enjoy them. His Word is an acquired taste. We actually need to be re-wired for pleasure - by the very Word itself. For when I have truly come to know this pleasure-seeking God in Whose presence is fullness of joy (Psalm 16.11), I find that there is no greater joy than in discovering and learning to do what He wants, what pleases Him. Such that in the end I find myself going out of my way and bending over backwards to do these things, to be absorbed in the commands which are contained in His Word, not only because there is such great joy in bringing my Daddy pleasure, but also because doing these things, living like this - like Him - is what I was always meant to do. It’s who I was made to be. In coming home to Him in my heart, I find myself. I find peace. Contentment. Satisfaction. And joy. Not some counterfeit fleeting version cooked up by the world, but inexpressible, deep, thirst-quenching, overflowing everlasting joy, joy made full and full of glory (John 15.11, 1Peter 1.8, cf Acts 13.52), which no one can take away. Enter in to the joy of your heavenly Father...
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