Christ said to His disciples, If ye love me, keep my commandments It is through faith that we are able to comprehend and keep His commandments, and through faith that we shall inherit eternal life Obedience is one of the great tests of faith (Heb 5 9) It is true that we all break one or more of the commandments at different times, but no true follower of Christ is happy in dis obedience, and will seek forgiveness and strive to the extent of His ability to do what Christ has commanded him to do.
The parable of the sower in the 8th chapter of Luke tells us that we must sow the seed (the Word of God) even if we see very few results ‘A sower went out to sow his seed and as he sowed, some fell by the wayside, and it was trodden down and the fowls of the air devoured it And some fell upon a rock, and as soon as it was sprung up, it withered away because it lacked moisture And some fell among thorns, and the thorns sprang up with it, and choked it And other fell on good ground, and sprang up, and bare fruit an hundredfold And when he had said these things, he cried, He that hath ears to hear, let him hear (Luke 8 5-8).
Jesus goes on to explain the parable in verses 11 18, Now the parable is this The seed is the word of God The Word of God coming from the lips of Jesus contains the revelation from Eden to the Apocalypse, in it are the glorious promises made to the fathers of old and reaffirmed to David which promises must be believed by the followers of Christ be fore they can receive eternal life.
Those by the wayside are they that hear, then cometh the devil, and taketh away the word out of their hearts, lest they should believe and be saved How often have we seen the Word preached and accepted for a short time, only to be trampled upon through the weaknesses of the flesh.
They on the rock are they, which, when they hear, receive the word with joy, and these have not root, which for a while believe, and in time of temptation fall away We are all familiar with seed which sprouts upon a rock It seems to cling tenaciously to life, and its feeders spread out from the roots in search of nourishing soil, only to perish when the sun is hot, or the frost comes Many have been workers in the Truth for a time, only to be burned out (so to speak) because their roots were not deep enough Unlike the plant, they, having had the opportunity to sink their roots deep into fertile soil, neglected to do so.
‘And that which fell among thorns are they, which, when they have heard, go forth and are choked with cares and riches and pleasures of this life, and bring no fruit to perfection Two forces are constantly at work in our lives On the one hand are the words of Jesus, If ye love me keep my commandments Everything beautiful and good is embraced in His teachings They lift us out of the lethargy into which we may have fallen, and lead us Zion-ward to the kingdom of glory and peace soon to come On the other hand are the cares, riches and pleasures of this world that threaten our very existence at all times But if we have our roots deeply entrenched in the Word, the Truth will triumph and His commandments lead us to drink deeply of the water of life while we are yet able to do so, that we may stand in the time of temptation and testing through which we all must pass.
But that on the good ground are they, which in an honest and good heart, having heard the word, keep it, and bring forth fruit with patience. Christ teaches us to be gentle, patient, having an honest and good heart Patience is perhaps the most difficult trait for some of us to cultivate, it is however, of prime importance The majority of us have lost patience at times But continued anger and impatience if not checked will eventually destroy us in this life, and unquestionably cause us to lose the promised reward.
Another of Christ s commandments is that we let our light shine (Matthew 5 16) No man, when he hath lighted a candle, covereth it with a vessel, or putteth it under a bed; but setteth it on a candlestick that they which enter in may see the light” (Luke 8:16). This is an intimation that those who receive the light of Truth do not receive it merely for their own advantage, but should exhibit it in word and deed to all those about them. Indeed they must irradiate a glow into the darkness surrounding them, whether the darkness comprehends it or not. Every man or woman who has the Truth, but conceals it for some reason or fails to reveal it to the extent of his power is disobedient to the commandment.
The storms of life are many and sometimes present an obstacle to our keeping of the commandments. But Jesus is near to help us and we need have no fear if we leave things in His hands. Let us take heart as we examine verses 22 to 25 of the 8th chapter of Luke. “Now it came to pass on a certain day, that he went into a ship with his disciples: and he said unto them, Let us go over unto the other side of the lake. And they launched forth. But as they sailed he fell asleep and there came down a storm of wind on the lake; and they were filled with water, and were in jeopardy. And they came to him, and awoke him, saying, Master, Master, we perish. Then he arose, and rebuked the wind and the raging of the water: and they ceased, and were calm. And he said unto them, Where is your faith? And they being afraid wondered, saying one to another, “What manner of man is this! for he commandeth even the winds and water, and they obey him.”
We have all entered the ship (Christ) and are sailing for the other side. The literal waves were strong and boisterous when Christ and the disciples were in the boat, and they were afraid. Likewise we are sometimes afraid of the storms of trial and trouble which beset us. But even as Jesus quieted the turbulent waves at that time, so He can and will say “Peace be still” to the tempests that threaten us if the commandments of God have taken root in our lives and we have sufficient faith in Him.
There is no profit in anything other than keeping the commandments. Jesus says in Luke 9, verses 25 and 26: “For what is a man advantaged, if he gain the whole world, and lose himself, or be a castaway? For whosoever shall be ashamed of me and of my words, of him shall the Son of man be ashamed, when he shall come in his own glory, and in his Father’s, and of the holy angels.” The Scripture says that we cannot serve God and mammon. If we strive to please both masters, we deny ourselves the peace and rest that comes with obedience to the things that Christ has told us to do. Eventually we must make our choice between the two and serve God wholly or we shall not receive eternal life.
Christ has commanded us to help the poor, the sick and the sorrowful. “Inasmuch as ye have done it unto the least of these, ye have done it unto me.” Each visit to a sick bed, each helping hand, each kindly word, each good thought or deed are all recorded in heaven. We are all familiar with the parable of the Good Samaritan and the lesson that it teaches—as to who is our neighbor, and that we should do good to all as the opportunity is presented to us.
He tells us to be ready for His coming. “Be ye therefore ready also: for the Son of man cometh at an hour when ye think not” (Luke 12:40). He commands us to watch. He will not come unknown to those who watch.
The signs of Christ’s coming are unmistakable today. The past one hundred or more years have seen the revival of the Truth that the apostles preached. The fig tree is budding; the Russian host is arising; the Jewish people are in a mass exodus from Europe toward Palestine. Are we ready, brethren and sisters, to greet the messenger of God or to stand before the throne? We shall never feel entirely ready, but we can start today to live closer to Christ, to love Him more, and to endeavor to be like Him, keeping ever before us His parting words: “Blessed are they that do his commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city.”
The Origin of the Organic World – Part One