Only Children Embrace Obedience
John 15:10–11
“If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in his love. These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full.”
When Jesus describes discipleship, he doesn’t use the language of striving or performing—he uses the image of a vine and branches. He is the Vine. We are the branches. The Father is the Vinedresser, the careful, skilled caretaker who tends the vineyard so it will flourish.
The Vinedresser brings order. He prunes. He waters. He creates the right conditions for fruitfulness. In the same way, our Heavenly Father brings order into our lives through his Word and commands. At first, this can feel restrictive, maybe even harsh. But in reality, obedience is not God’s way of limiting us—it is his way of helping us thrive.
Jesus makes it clear: to abide in his love is to obey his commands. That doesn’t mean his love is conditional. His love comes first, just as the Father loved Jesus before he ever obeyed. Obedience is not the price of love—it is the evidence that we are abiding in love.
And what is the fruit of such abiding? Joy. Not fleeting happiness, but fullness of joy—the joy of knowing God himself, the joy of being rooted in Christ, the joy of a life ordered toward flourishing.
When we trust his Word, our character is shaped. When our character is shaped, we begin to rest. And when we rest, joy fills us. This is the gift of obedience—not control, not fear, not performance—but joy in God.
Reflection Questions
Where in your life right now do you sense disorder, and how might God’s Word bring order and peace there?
Do you tend to see obedience as a way to earn God’s love, or as a way to remain in God’s love? What difference does that perspective make?
Think about a time when obeying God deepened your trust in him. How did it shape your character or bring you rest?
Jesus says his commands are given so that his joy may be in us. Where do you need to experience his joy in this season?
What is one specific step of obedience you sense God inviting you into this week?
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