For this is [real evidence of] our love for God: [It is] obeying what He commands us to do. And obeying His commands does not cause us any grief [or, unpleasantness].
If you obey my commandments, [then] you will continue receiving my love; just as I have obeyed my Father’s commandments and [so] continue receiving His love.
And this is [the true meaning of] love: That we should live in obedience to God’s commandments. And this is the commandment, just as you heard from the beginning, that you should live in it [i.e., live a life of love].
I do not call you slaves anymore, for a slave does not know what his master is doing. But I have called you friends, because I have told you everything that I heard from my
Father.
For this is the Agreement that I will make with the people of Israel in the coming days, says the Lord: I will put my laws into their minds, and I will also write them on their hearts. And I will be their God and they will be my people.
Yes, they require people to bear heavy and difficult responsibilities, and place them on people’s shoulders [to carry out], but they themselves will not lift a finger to do them.