I’ve heard many stories starting: “I have to be perfect before I can come to Jesus.” Honestly, that was me for a long time. Anytime I messed up, I would run from Him, thinking, “How could He possibly love me? How could He love someone who keeps chasing after the world instead of Him?”
Instead of running to Him, I ran further into my sin, so convinced there was no way He could love me. I’ve been reading John, and I felt His words differently. John 14:15 hit me in a new way: “If you love me, obey my commandments,” and in John 14:21, “Those who accept my commandments and obey them are the ones who love me. And because they love me, my Father will love them. And I will love them and reveal myself to each of them.”
If you love Jesus, then you will obey His commandments. It is not by obeying His commandments that He will love you. It’s simple, but it changes everything. Obedience doesn’t earn His love. Being perfect isn’t the first step. When we love Him, obedience flows naturally from that love. I spent so much time thinking that if I could just get rid of my sin, He would love me. But that’s not how Jesus works. He loves us right in the middle of the mess, the running, and the mistakes, even when we feel completely unworthy.
John 15 makes it even clearer. Jesus is the true vine, and we are the branches. We can’t do anything apart from Him. But when we stay connected to Him, He works in our lives. He prunes what is not of Him, He shapes us, and He produces fruit through us that is everlasting. We don’t have to be perfect; we don’t have to strive; we don’t have to fix everything. We just have to remain in Him. He chose us. He loves us. He appointed us to bear fruit. Our job is simply to remain in Him and let our love for Him shape the way we live.
Jesus chose you. He chose me. As John 15:16 says, “You didn’t choose me. I chose you. I appointed you to go and produce lasting fruit, so that the Father will give you whatever you ask for, using my name.” We didn’t earn His love, and it’s not because we’re perfect. He chose us simply because He loves us. Even in the middle of our mess, He is calling us, shaping us, and using us to bear fruit that lasts.
