Many people are fond of saying that being saved and living for God isn’t about rules, it’s about a relationship. While this is true, many people use this as an excuse not to follow any rules at all. They act as if they don’t really know how a relationship works.
Yes, life with God is more about the relationship than the rules. But if you’ve ever been in any sort of relationship, you’ll know that there are expectations on both sides. Whether written or unwritten, spoken or understood, whether you’re business partners, co-workers, friends, romantically pursuing, or married, there are expectations that both of you have for the other’s conduct and behavior.
God has expectations for your behavior also – and they are never unrealistic or unfair! While He will never stop loving you if you do not meet these expectations, just think for a minute about how you feel when someone does not meet your expectations. Do you feel hurt? Do you perhaps at times feel unloved? How disappointed are you?
If we really care about our relationship with God, we’ll do what He likes. We’ll do what He says to do. We’ll listen to Him. We’ll obey Him. If we really love God, we will keep His commandments (John 14:15; 1 John 2:3-5), and it won’t be because we have to, or because it’s “the rules.” It will be because we want to, because of the love that flows between us (1 John 3:24 & 5:3; 2 John 6).