Wesley, Commandments and Changed Hearts

“Love is the end of all the commandments of God. Love is the end, the sole end, of every dispensation of God, from the beginning of the world to the consummation of all things.” -John Wesley

The word “love” is so prevalent in the writings of both John and Charles Wesley that it’s impossible to overlook. A scholar of hymnody once told me that he can spot a Charles Wesley hymn a mile away because it will inevitably use the word “love” over and over again. 

In this quote from John Wesley, love is clearly linked to the commandments of God and to God’s work throughout time. In other words, the God who is love, acts according to his character.

But sometimes, we don’t think of commandments and love as closely linked. Commandments can be seen as a list of “do’s and don’ts” rather than something loving. But what if the commandments of God point to the life of love, a life of freedom made possible because of holy love?

Note how Christ put it in John 14:15 when he said, “If you love me, you will follow my commandments.” Keep in mind, it’s not follow my commandments and that will be a sign of love. Rather, if you love me, if you’ve walked with me, if you know me and love me, your life will reflect mine.

It’s not the rule follower that God is looking for, it’s the one who loves him, the one with a changed heart.

It’s easy to slip into a legalistic view of the commandments or even of the Christian life, but that’s really to miss the point. The Christian life is a transforming life, one with guidelines for sure, but one marked by faithfulness and the resulting wholeness that is the promise of every believer.

When you think about the commandments of God and how they’re intimately connected to love, keep this in mind. The God who is love, wants to make us loving just as He is. The result is a life of freedom, the life that God always intended for us from the beginning and makes possible now as we walk with Him.

Ryan N. Danker is director of the John Wesley Institute, Washington, DC. This is reposted from a weekly JWI newsletter that you can subscribe to here.