Effect of Love

Jesus says “If you keep my commands, you will remain in my love.” The moment we hear the word commands, we think of rules — of performance, of things to prove. But John Calvin saw it clearly: obedience is not the cause of His love toward us. It is the effect. We do not obey to earn His love. We obey because we are already living in it. The love always comes first — and a life rooted in that love produces obedience the way a branch produces fruit: not by straining, but by staying.