Because You First Loved Me

Season: Learn Obedience from the Masters | Topics: Young Women

Claire Black: Welcome to True Girl, a podcast for girls and their moms. I’m Claire Black. Together, we’ll explore God’s truth for us one drive at a time! Buckle up. You’re about to grow closer to each other and closer to Jesus!

Song:

I am a true girl.
Oh, oh, oh, oh.
I am, I am, I am a true girl!

When we left Dannah Gresh and Suzy Weibel at the end of the last episode, Suzy was about to go into the ring with Selah, and she was nervous that Selah wouldn’t pass.

But Suzy also said something that both Dannah and I heard loud and clear, “Selah’s just happy whenever she gets to spend time with me.”

What would make Selah obey without a treat? The same thing that has made dogs—and especially people—obey throughout generations! Psalm 77:11–12 says, …

Song:

I am a true girl.
Oh, oh, oh, oh.
I am, I am, I am a true girl!

When we left Dannah Gresh and Suzy Weibel at the end of the last episode, Suzy was about to go into the ring with Selah, and she was nervous that Selah wouldn’t pass.

But Suzy also said something that both Dannah and I heard loud and clear, “Selah’s just happy whenever she gets to spend time with me.”

What would make Selah obey without a treat? The same thing that has made dogs—and especially people—obey throughout generations! Psalm 77:11–12 says, “I will remember the Lord’s works; yes, I will remember your ancient wonders. I will reflect on all you have done and meditate on your actions.”

Or to put it in the words of modern songwriter Cody Carnes:

He's never let me down.
He's faithful through generations,
So why would He fail now?
He won't!

When we know we can trust God, when we trust that He loves us, when we love Him in return, we joyfully do whatever He asks.

Let’s listen to episode two called, “Because You First Loved Me”

[Dog Show Sounds]

Dannah Gresh: You did it! And guess what? I knew you would. Did you hear what you said right before you and Selah headed out for your ring time?

Suzy Weibel: I was so nervous I think all I heard from anyone was the sound of Charlie Brown’s teacher: wahmp, wahmp, wahmp.

Dannah: Well, get that obedience queen her reward and then I’ll remind you!

Suzy: Awww, girl, you’re waiting so patiently.

[Dog panting, sound of treat being crunched]

I’m rewarding her now, but this is not the big reward. We’re not actually through yet. There is one more test she has to pass, and it’s a hard one.

Dannah: That’s right! I almost forgot. She still has to do her sit and down stays.

Suzy: You have such good recall? Would you like a puppy treat?

Dannah: (Laughing) That’s okay. You can just pat me on the head.

Suzy: So . . . ahh! This is the real test of Selah’s obedience. She has to sit for three minutes and stay on a down.

Dannah: That’s laying down, right?

Suzy: Right, and she has to do that for five minutes.

Dannah: Well, that seems easy compared to what she just did with all of that heeling and jumping and retrieving while off the leash! But I’m guessing there’s probably a catch.

Suzy: There’s a big catch! For both her sitting and laying down exercises, I leave the ring, and she won’t be able to see me. We’re relying on her being willing to stay put in a strange place surrounded by strange dogs and all of this noise—all while she can’t see her number one source of comfort and security.

Dannah: You.

Suzy: Me. I don’t know if she can do it, Dannah. She does it at home, but she feels secure there.

Dannah: You know what? We got distracted. I was going to remind you of the last thing you said before you headed into the ring.

Suzy: Oh, yeah. That seems to happen to me a lot lately! Not only did I forget what I said, but I even forgot that you were going to remind me!

Dannah: (Laughing) You said that Selah didn’t have any idea what was at stake today. She is just happy any time she gets to spend time with you. I think that is the secret to obedience.

Suzy: Ah, so you think she’s not learning what to do . . .

Dannah: . . . nearly as much as she is certain who she wants to please and be with. Yes. Ready to double down on my hypothesis through Scripture?

Suzy: Always, let’s go!

Dannah: Okay. Jesus said if we love Him we will obey Him.

Suzy: That’s John 14, right? Such a good test for us. I say I love God, but here’s the evidence: I actually do what He asks.

Dannah: Right. And even though that is not how we are saved, it is evidence that we belong to Jesus. Here’s another way to look at it through Selah: you don’t love Selah because she wins obedience titles. I’m pretty sure you loved her back when she was learning not to use your rugs for a potty and before she swallowed your sock.

Suzy: (Laughing) You remember that, huh? That was the craziest thing! She was playing a game of keep away with my sock in her mouth. I was going to give her a cookie in exchange for that sock, but when I moved to get the cookie she thought I was coming to take the sock away and . . . gulp . . . she swallowed it whole!

Dannah: Did she ever do that again?

Suzy: No! I got to work right away teaching her that I was safe. If I took something away she would get ear scratches or a cookie or some play time. I guess you could say she quit thinking I was out to make her life miserable by taking things away from her. I always had something better to give her.

Dannah: That’s a great connection to the truth in John 14:15, and it leads us to 1 John 4:19. Look at this verse.

Suzy: Oh yeah, I know this one. “We love because he first loved us.”

Dannah: The more time you spent loving Selah, giving her good gifts and reminding her that she is safe with you, the more she had to remember. If she could speak,

[Bark]

Suzy: (Laughter) Ha ha! Not that kind of “speak,” girl. But boy, do you ever deserve a cookie for that!

[Crunching cookie]

Dannah: If she could “speak” [whispering], she would say something like what John said. “I love my mom because I remember all of the times and all of the ways that she has faithfully loved me.”

Suzy: And because she loves me . . .

Dannah: . . . she’s more than happy to do what you ask. It brings her joy. She doesn’t understand the titles and the ribbons. But she does understand what a joy it is to do anything the one who loves her the most asks her to do.

Suzy: Wow, my mind is racing right now with all of the examples of this in the Bible. Abraham was willing to obey and lay his son on an altar because he knew that God would provide the perfect deliverance just like He had already done faithfully throughout all of Abraham’s life.

Dannah: Yep! Or Gideon who was willing to go into battle with only 300 men when God told him to, even though he was facing an army of 135,000. God told Gideon that He would deliver the other army into his hands and Gideon remembered. Hmm, God has never lied to me or been wrong.

Suzy: There are so many to choose from!

Dannah: And our prime example is Jesus, right? In the “Faith Hall of Fame” found in the book of Hebrews, the Bible says, “For the joy that lay before him, he endured the cross, despising the shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.”

Suzy: Wow, so remembering the joy that was sure to come, Jesus obeyed. Philippians 2 is one of my favorite chapters in the Bible, and it even talks about rewards.

Dannah: Just like Selah’s cookies, but way better.

Suzy: (Laughing) Sooo much better! Here it is, I brought it up on my phone. Philippians 2:8–11:

And when he had come as a man,
he humbled himself by becoming obedient
to the point of death—
even to death on a cross.

And here comes the reward!

For this reason God highly exalted him
and gave him the name
that is above every name,
so that at the name of Jesus
every knee will bow—
in heaven and on earth
and under the earth—
and every tongue will confess
that Jesus Christ is Lord,
to the glory of God the Father.

Dannah: Oh, that’s so good. Jesus was confident in God the Father’s love. He knew there would be a joy and reward eventually, and that’s why He obeyed. Suzy, I sure wish obedience came more easily to me. I wish I could be more like Jesus.

Suzy: Well, that’s the best news of all, Dannah. Jesus obeyed for us. Someone had to pay the debt of our sin, and it couldn’t be us. He was kind of like a substitute on that cross. He showed up in our place. He did what we couldn’t do.

Dannah: So, that means my obedience to God is not what saves me. Jesus’ obedience already saved me. He died for my disobedience. He made me new, and I want to be more like Him. That is why I obey.

Suzy: Obedience really is all about love!

[Announcer: Can I have all Open Obedience dogs with passing scores into the ring for group stays please. ]

Suzy: Dannah, I probably should have used this time for practicing Selah’s sit and down stays, but I think the practice we just did was even better.

Dannah: She’s going to do fine.

Suzy: You know what? I think she will! You ready girl? I love you.

[Kissing and dog panting ]

Dannah: You know what, Suzy? I think she loves you, too.

Claire: Okay, I know you’re wondering whether Selah passed. She did!

But I want to go back to what Dannah and Suzy were talking about. Because obedience is not an easy subject to talk about. We really don’t want to start to think that we have to obey God perfectly in order to be forgiven and adopted into His family. That’s not how it works! In fact, that is a false teaching called a “doctrine of works.”

Adoption into God’s family, or salvation, comes from faith. It’s not something we could ever earn. The Holy Spirit works in your heart so that you recognize your sin. You repent. He forgives and adopts you. You couldn’t ever do enough to earn that. And you don’t deserve such kindness.

But when God works in your heart that way and you realize how much He loves you, your natural response is to love Him in return. You can have a very real relationship with Jesus even though you haven’t met Him face to face yet. And that relationship—His love for you and your love for Him—makes you want to do what He asks. It makes Him happy, and it brings you joy that never goes away!

If you’re just realizing how sinful you are and how amazing it is that God loves you so much, talk to your mom or dad or someone at your church about it. They can answer questions you might have.

And I hope you’ll check out the True Girl Subscription box. That’s a great way to grow in your relationship with Jesus! Go to MyTrueGirl.com to learn more.

Come back next week to hear about one really amazing way God shows His love for us!

Song: