Today’s Assignment
For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments, and His commandments are not burdensome. 1 John 5:3
Keep – What do you think about when you hear the command, “Keep the commandments”? If the first thing that comes to mind is drudgery and effort, perhaps you need to go back to yesterday’s word. But if you experience keeping the commandments of God as the gateway to real living, then read on. You’ll discover that keeping the commandments is only a twenty-four hour assignment.
The Greek verb tereo implies not just obedience but also careful attentiveness and watchful guardianship. It is not enough to simply execute the law correctly. I am also called to watch over God’s law, to guard its sanctity and carefully attend to its holiness. That means there will be plenty of opportunity when no particular law is at stake but God’s law is still put to the test. The spirit of the law comes into play when I am asked to testify to the truthfulness of God’s design even when there isn’t a specific edict at risk.
Now that we see the scope of our assignment, you will be happy to know that the verb tereo is in the active, present tense. Your assignment, should you chose to accept it, is to keep, guard and attend to the commandments of God today. Not yesterday. Whatever happened with the assignment yesterday is either cause for celebration or repentance. Not tomorrow. God requires nothing of you tomorrow. The entire focus of tereo is right now, in this present time. That’s all that is necessary. Just keep God’s law at this moment and you’ll be fine.
It is unfortunate that most of us view this verse as though the verb were in the future tense. We read it as though it says, “we will keep His commandments.” That would be burdensome, for it would project into my future the stretch of day after day, striving to maintain the high standard of God. All of it would somehow rest on my shoulders now, as if what I do in the next moment will seal my eternal obedience. But this is not what John says. John simply says that if I love God, I keep His commandments at this moment. There is no projection into my unknown (and unknowable) tomorrow. There is only now, and right now, to love God is to be obedient to Him. That’s all. And that’s enough.
