Reckless love and bold obedience

 I have spent a lot of time thinking about what it means to be a follower of Christ the last couple of weeks, and I have come to the conclusion that at least two things are required: bold obedience and reckless love. Because, after all, isn't that what Jesus did for us? We are told in 1 John 2:3-4,

Now by this we know that we have come to know him, if we obey his commandments. Whoever says, “I have come to know him,” but does not obey his commandments is a liar, and in such a person the truth does not exist....

And in 1 John 15:12-14 we read,

“This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. You are my friends if you do what I command you.

The message is clear and direct. To know God, we must obey his commandments, and his commandment is to love one another as he has loved us.

Image Bearers

This year I am looking at my daily meditations through the frame that we are all made in the image of God. This morning I am meditating on Ruth 1:16.

But Ruth replied, “Don’t urge me to leave you or to turn back from you. Where you go I will go, and where you stay I will stay. Your people will be my people and your God my God. "

These powerful and beloved words don't lead to easy lives for these women. They struggle. They face hardship. But they persevere together. Ruth did not believe in Naomi's God at the beginning of her story, but she was still made in his image. And she still, even without realizing it, was doing his work as she followed Naomi to a new place. God works in the lives of those who do not know him, even before they know him, so powerful is his plan for all of our lives. And in the end, God rewards them, according to his purpose.