“When you obey my commandments, you remain in my love, just as I obey my Father’s commandments and remain in his love. I have told you these things so that you will be filled with my joy. Yes, your joy will overflow!” (John 15:10-11 NLT)

As we enter the Easter season, I want to reflect on a couple of passages from Jesus’ last words with His disciples prior to His crucifixion.

Here we are at what is known as the Last Supper. The disciples are not yet getting it. The betrayer has gone out into the night. Jesus has a few final hours to give to His disciples words that will carry them through the coming hours, days, weeks. “I am the vine,” He says. “Remain in me, and I will remain in you” (vv. 4-6).

And then the amazing statement, “I have loved you even as the Father has loved me” (v. 9). That statement alone should give us pause. How odd that He then has to say, “Remain in my love.” Are we that prone to stray from true love? Apparently so. And the way to remain in His love? Obedience. “When you obey my commandments, you remain in my love” (v. 10). And when we obey? “You will be filled with my joy. Yes, your joy will overflow!” (v. 11).

Joy and obedience. One sounds like freedom; the other sounds like rules. But in reality, both are freedom. Obedience protects us from false joy–from following after something that makes us feel good but might be wrong or sinful. Consider the woman who falls into an affair because the other man “makes her feel like she’s never felt before.” Maybe she feels a level of “joy” and so mistakes this for God’s will. Obedience would tell her not to follow after that feeling and thus commit sin (along with causing a host of other problems). It might “feel right,” but it’s wrong. A commitment to finding joy along with obedience helps us to find true joy because we are following God’s will for our lives. We are remaining in His love.

Joy is found in obeying and obeying is discovered in God’s Word and seeking God’s guidance daily. There is no greater joy than staying within the boundaries of obedience to our Savior. You save yourself a whole lot of pain and regret, you don’t hurt other people by sinning against them, and you live the life God called you to live.

Obedience is the way to true joy. With these final sayings before His death, Jesus showed us the way to find the joy He Himself had. Such a gift to us.

This Easter, let’s recommit ourselves to discovering that joy through our obedience. It’s a gift that’s ours for the taking.