1 Whoever believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God, and whoever loves the Father loves the child born of Him. 2 By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and observe His commandments. 3 For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments; and His commandments are not burdensome. (1 John 5:1–3)
There are a lot of things in life that require the completion of an application, that subsequently undergoes intense scrutiny by others over an extended unspecified time period. There’s always an anxious waiting period where you wonder if you’ve been accepted or not. If you’re like me, you expect the worst. It could be a job or college application, or a response to a follow-up interview. The worst case I can think of—my son’s—is a med student waiting to find out if he or she matched with a desired residency program after 20 years of schooling. Wouldn’t it be great just to know that you were in from the beginning?
In this passage the entrance requirements are clear. No application is necessary. But there is a bit of a wrinkle thrown in, that we love not only the Father, ergo the Son, but keep his commandments. Ouch.
We go down the checklist in our minds. I believe Jesus is the Christ born of God. Check. I love the Father. Check. I keep his commandments. “Can I get back to you, Lord?” But if you look closely, the bar for knowing you love the children of God is observing (poieō, in the Greek, or doing) his commandments. This should be a bar easy enough to clear outwardly, but in reality, when you fold in our thoughts and attitudes, the bar is raised to a height that can’t be scaled.“For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” Romans 3:23
Thankfully there’s a qualifier. “His commandments are not burdensome.” He must tolerate our thoughts and attitudes, giving us a chance to check them at the door. I always seem to suspect the worse in people initially. I tend to expect there are wrong motives, and, therefore I could very well render a premature incorrect judgment. But the still, soft voice in my head counteracts this, asking that I reconsider, or at least reserve judgment. “You are not God,” he says. And, of course, the act of loving your neighbor is just a start. Keep in mind, it says here that our responsibility is not to love the whole world—that’s His—but the “children of God.” Now that should be doable.
4 For whatever is born of God overcomes the world; and this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith. 5 Who is the one who overcomes the world, but he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God? (1 John 5:4–5)
So as to not complicate things, to put a burden on us that we can’t carry, which is the reason for the incarnation of Jesus in the first place, we must fall back on our faith in him. If no one measures up but Him, if we believe and sincerely rely on this fact, and have faith in the effectiveness of his advocacy of us in front of an Almighty God, presenting this all-encompassing “get out of jail free” card meets the requirement of “keeping his commandments.” This is why they are not burdensome.
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