6th Sunday of Easter

by Deacon Gary Johnson  |  05/09/2026  |  Sunday Written Reflection

Jesus said to His disciples, “If you love me, you will keep my commandments.” Obedience to His divine will is the greatest act of love we can offer. This is because God’s will is perfect. It’s exactly what we need in life. It’s what we were made for.

Jesus followed up His call to obedience by saying that obedience to Him will result in Jesus and His Father bestowing the Holy Spirit upon them. The Holy Spirit will remain “with you and will be in you.” This is such a profound statement from our Lord!

One clear thing this tells us is that obedience to God leads to a discovery of the Truth. And as Jesus says elsewhere, “If you remain in my word, you will truly be my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free” (John 8:31–32). Obedience leads to Truth. Truth leads to freedom.

This begs the question: Do you want to be free? Clearly you do because the desire for freedom and happiness is written upon our very nature. However, it is quite possible to become confused about the way we achieve these desires. For many, obedience is not always understood as the pathway to that desired freedom and happiness.

Imagine a parent telling that child not to eat a certain wild berry that grows because the parent knows the berry is poisonous and will cause the child to become sick. If the child disobeys and eats the berry anyway, he will learn the important lesson that he should have been obedient.

On a grand scale, this is what God does for us. He is the perfect Father Who always knows what is best for us. For that reason, we must not only conform to His will, we must seek it out and desire to be obedient to the greatest degree. This is the path to truth. It is the path to freedom. It is the path to the happiness we desire.

Reflect, today, upon your own level of obedience to the will of God and your understanding of the importance of that obedience. Do you realize that God’s will is perfect? Do you forgive those who seem undeserving? Reflect upon anything this past year that was difficult for you to embrace from God. Ponder it, pray about it, and seek to obey whatever God has revealed to you. Doing so will be the first step toward the fulfillment of your deepest desires in life.