Day 5: John 14:15-31
Stories: The Holy Spirit & Obedience
Curiosities:
1) This is a hard passage to wrap our minds around. Jesus tells us that if we love Him, we will keep His commandments. He is equating love to obedience, something that the Pharisees were so intent on. How is Jesus’ commandment here different from the Pharisees understanding of obedience?
2) Jesus doubles down on the obedience thing by saying if we don’t obey, we don’t love Him. This causes me to really wrestle with the proper place and understanding of obedience. How can we focus on obeying God without losing our love for Him like the Pharisees? Like the church of Ephesus in Revelation? How can we obey in faith and not in our own strength?
3) The fact that the Holy Spirit will be our teacher is so comforting. God has not left us alone, but has given us a Teacher who can communicate with us as often as we are willing to engage with Him. Are you willing to speak to the Holy Spirit often and throughout the day?
Paradoxes: If the world accepts us, does that mean we don’t have the Holy Spirit? In what way does the Holy Spirit bring conflict into our lives that didn’t exist before? Should we live at peace with those around us, or will living life in the Spirit bring us conflict?
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