The English language is confusing. We have so many idioms (figures of speech). Our Bibles reflect this truth.

3 By wisdom a house is built, and by understanding it is established; by knowledge the rooms are filled with all precious and pleasant riches.

The mind and the heart cannot be separated. In fact, the heart is the amplifier of the mind; it distills our thoughts and focuses our feelings; it gives flight to our intentions and reveals our greatest desires. It is because of this fusion between the heart and mind that 1 John 5:1 is true:

Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ has been born of God, and everyone who loves the Father loves whoever has been born of him.

Belief leads to faith which leads to trust. We choose to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, our Christ, and that He is God incarnate. Because we believe, we trust what He says and leads us to do. This process is called faith. By faith, we follow Christ. This faith was borne out of our believing Jesus and then trusting Jesus enough to obey Him. Let’s read verse 2:

² By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and obey his commandments.

Since we are all in Christ (which means that we have been invited to share in the fellowship of the Trinity: God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit, we love those whom God loves. And, our obedience attests to that fact.

³ For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments. And his commandments are not burdensome.

How we show our love for God is by keeping His commandments. And John knows because He heard Jesus say, “Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” Matthew 11:28-30.

Forget about sin; it’s been forgiven. Desist in trying to please Jesus; you are already pleasing to Him. His yoke is easy and His burden is light! He wants us to begin right now to believe He has taken care of everything and simply wants us to quit looking at darkness and look to His light. He wants us to join Him in the fellowship of the Trinity. Once we begin this journey, we will never go back! We may stumble along the way, but Jesus will help us back up–usually through the hands of His followers–and get us back on track again.

The Christian life truly is simple:
Believe, trust, obey. Repeat.
That’s it.

Abba, thank You for removing my sin and separating it from me as far as the East is from the West (Psalm 103:12). Your sacrifice on the cross was sufficient to take my sin (and the consequences of that sin) to the grave. Thank You for taking great delight in Your son (me). You love me, care for me, and keep me in Your love. You include me in the fellowship of the Trinity; may You continue to open my mind to more wisdom, understanding and knowledge. Your grace is sufficient for everything! Amen.