John14:15 If ye love me, keep my commandments.

The Greek word for “ye love” is agapao not agape with is God’s perfect love. More on that later.

Too often we measure our love capacity for God in our ability to obey His commandments. We do this forgetting that Jesus did away with the law as a requirement for a relationship with God. Since the Greek form here is a noun, this isn’t a matter of action. The verb in this sentence is keep, not love.

Many of us get caught up in the issues that they believe they “have to do”. In doing this they become legalistic and start placing demands on others. This attitude steals the freedom which Christ gives to us thru faith grace. Every demand we place on ourselves becomes a barrier in coming closer to God.

John 15:10 If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father’s commandments, and abide in his love.

This is the key to God’s agape love, His perfect love, is a dwelling place, an abode. If we abide in Him and He abides in us, we abide together in perfect love. This is not something which is within our ability to perform, it is perfect. Yet Christ who is perfect dwells with us and He is perfect in performance of love.

One of the most important aspects of loving relationships is shared experiences, doing things together. How do I rewrite John 14:15 in relationship to agapao and be respectful to the intimacy with which God’s perfect love becomes an active participant in those things which you can do thru obedience of faith? I tried and do not have the words to use, but I would begin with removing the word “if”.

Christ is only asking for our cooperation in this relationship. He knows what needs to be done, He has the power to do what needs to be done. He is only asking for our cooperation.

Romans 12:1 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.