If You Love Me….
When the officer heard about Jesus, he sent some respected Jewish elders to ask him to come and heal his slave. So they earnestly begged Jesus to help the man. “If anyone deserves your help, he does,” they said, “for he loves the Jewish people and even built a synagogue for us.” Luke 7:2-5 NLT
This story illustrates the difference between the gospel and legalism. Legalism tells us the officer has given so much that he deserves special treatment from Jesus. Meanwhile the gospel teaches us that Jesus helps those who need His help, regardless of who they are.
So Jesus went with them. But just before they arrived at the house, the officer sent some friends to say, “Lord, don’t trouble yourself by coming to my home, for I am not worthy of such an honor. Luke 7:6 NLT
While the Jewish elders thought the officer had earned special favors, the officer himself understood the gospel. The officer had no sense of entitlement because of his works. You may read on how Jesus heals his servant, but my point is that the officer was not giving for the sake of a reward or special treatment, but out of love.
Jesus says, 
If you love me, obey my commandments. John 14:15
Notice Jesus does not say, “If you don’t want to go to hell, keep my commandments!” or “If you want to go to heaven, keep my commandments.” He says, “If you love me, keep my commandments.”
Keeping God’s commandments to get a reward does not make you a good person. Many people disobey God’s commands to get rewards. They cheat on their income tax reports to get a larger refund. They lie about achievements they have never attained to get praise from man. People who obey God for the sake of a reward will also just as easily disobey God if they could achieve a greater reward. Being motivated by the hope of a reward does not make you a good person fitted for the unselfish society of heaven.
Keeping God’s commandments out of fear of punishment does not make you a good person either. Remember in Daniel 3 the three Hebrew children were threatened with punishment if they did obey God! While they told the king that God would protect them, they also made it clear that was not the point.
He will rescue us from your power, Your Majesty. But even if he doesn’t, we want to make it clear to you, Your Majesty, that we will never serve your gods or worship the gold statue you have set up.” Daniel 3:17-18 NLT
The Hebrew children were obeying God out of love, no matter what. They were not motivated by hope of reward or fear of punishment. In the same way,
We love Him because He first loved us. 1 John 4:19 NKJV
Love to God is the very foundation of religion. To engage in His service merely from hope of reward or fear of punishment would avail nothing. -Ellen White, Patriarch and Prophets, Page 523.
It is not the fear of punishment, or the hope of everlasting reward, that leads the disciples of Christ to follow Him. They behold the Saviour’s matchless love, revealed throughout His pilgrimage on earth, from the manger of Bethlehem to Calvary’s cross, and the sight of Him attracts, it softens and subdues the soul. Love awakens in the heart of the beholders. They hear His voice, and they follow Him. -Ellen White, The Desire of Ages, Page 480.
Once, I was in a literature evangelist meeting with our conference president. We were discussing which book to promote. The Great Controversy or the Desire of Ages? Some people said the Great Controversy because it warns us about last-day events. I suggested the Desire of Ages because it helps us fall in love with Jesus, so that when last-day events occur, we will make the right choices for the right reasons – because we love Jesus. Unless we are in love with Jesus, knowledge about last-day events will avail nothing.
Here are those who keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus. Revelation 14:12 NKJV
All those who have faith in Jesus’ love keep His commandments.
(43)
Whau! How I love what I have read! It is just the way I believe it should be. My bible text for 2014: "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind;" and, "Love your neighbor as yourself."
Thank you for the kind, beautiful and constructive words
I do agree that it may be harder to see God’s love and mercy in the The Great Controversy between Christ and Satan because it is dealing with the war Satan is waging against the law and people of God and how it plays out in horrific events past and future. The Desire of Ages deals with the self-sacrificing life and teachings of Christ and His amazing sacrifice on the cross of Calvary highlighting the beauty of God’s love for us. However, the careful reader will discern something of the amazing love and power of God in The Great Controversy and something of the horrors of the battle between good and evil in The Desire of Ages.
It is interesting to note that the five volumes of the conflict of the ages series from Patriarchs and Prophets to The Great Controversy start and end with a statement of the love of our heavenly Father.
"God is love." 1 John 4:16. His nature, His law, is love. It ever has been; it ever will be. "The high and lofty One that inhabiteth eternity," whose "ways are everlasting," changeth not. With Him "is no variableness, neither shadow of turning." Isaiah 57:15; Habakkuk 3:6; James 1:17. PP 33
"The great controversy is ended. Sin and sinners are no more. The entire universe is clean. One pulse of harmony and gladness beats through the vast creation. From Him who created all, flow life and light and gladness, throughout the realms of illimitable space. From the minutest atom to the greatest world, all things, animate and inanimate, in their unshadowed beauty and perfect joy, declare that God is love." GC 678
Thank you for your touching article.personally I have a weakness of loving people who I clearly know that they hate me. How do I forgive someone who has my debt and is not willing to return them? Worse still goes around telling the public how mean you are! It is true that God loves us equally,how can we in our human state exhibit and reflect this in our daily lives?
Good question Robert! And I know my answer will sound like one of those "... easily said, than done." God says, I'll paraphrase...If your enemy is hungry, feed him..., and if he takes your coat, let him have the other, .... Try it, you'll be amazed, it really works!!!
Robert, the only way I know to love someone I can't love is to give my will to God and consent for His Holy Spirit to come into me and motivate my very thoughts and feelings as He did Adam at Creation and as He did for Christ when He lived incarnate on this Earth and as He does God Himself. This will give you love that you cannot have naturally.
Try it and see what new vistas of Love you can share with Christ for those you cannot naturally love or forgive. It must come from God to be real.
Well put, my brother. Thank you for letting the Lord use you.
Good write-up, we need2emphasize in every doctrine we preach especially in our evangelical meetings, How does d truth about d state of d Dead show God's immeasurable love? How does the truth about christian adornment, baptism, Sabbath, Sanctuary, diet etc reveals His true nature? If we've not bn able to answer that correctly, we're just out on a knowledge impertation campaign which is what we more often do. However I do believe under the guidance of d holy spirit, one can see as much of God's love in d GC as can be seen in the DA. Ellen White also said of all her writings, the GC is the one she'll want spread more around the globe. God is Love!
Motivations for keeping the commandments.
1. Love
2. Fear of punishment
3. Hope for reward
Only Love will bring us to eat at His table. But is it wrong to have the fear of punishment or hope of reward to turn us around from our sinful paths? Can fear of punishment or hope for reward evolve into Love for Him as we continue looking at him?
Its so funny to realise that an ordinary military officer would understand the gospel more than the teachers of the law.Great lesson to those who think they are better than those outside the church,I mean sda church.please remove the holier than you jacket and the know it all mind.
It was a great article and even though we know that Love is the reason to keep the commandments we need to read it, speak it and bring it to our mind and dwell on it daily. Thank you for helping me do that.
PS God asks us to love our neighbors but he does not say to be a doormat nor to live in a situation that could cause us harm such as a woman in an abusive relationship or a child that is being molested. Often times when we say nothing about an illegal or immoral situation silence is seen as acceptance of the sin.
Thanks
Thank you for the great insights on how we should relate to God. However when I read the book of revelation punishment and reward are emphasized almost in equal measure. The two show a just God to be loved. How satisfying it is to read that all injustice will be brought to judgement