1 John 5:3 For this is the love of God, in order that we keep his commands, and his command are not heavy burdens.
αὕτη γάρ ἐστιν ἡ ἀγάπη τοῦ θεοῦ, ἵνα τὰς ἐντολὰς αὐτοῦ τηρῶμεν, καὶ αἱ ἐντολαὶ αὐτοῦ βαρεῖαι οὐκ εἰσίν.
For those who have not given their lives completely to God, God’s commands seem like burdens. Those people view God as a taskmaster. They are God’s slaves. To be a believer is not a pleasant experience. They may have faith, but it is weak. Temptations are strong and sin too easily encroaches into their lives.
Those who have laid themselves on the altar of consecration find that there is freedom there. It is a freedom characterized by transforming love. God’s commands are not burdens but serves their purpose of showing us how to love. They become what they were meant to be: the roadmap to holiness. As the writer of Psalm 119 expresses it on every line of that poem, it is delight to serve God in obedience to God’s will. Such persons have given themselves completely over to God as children. God is the loving Father, not the coercive, vindictive slave driver.
A person can grow in either directly. Growing as a slave may end up in the trap of legalism, where people struggle to follow the law in an effort to get eternal life. Or, a person may give up and return to the ways of the world into libertinism. John addresses both of these issues in this letter. The way of freedom is the way of love.
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