Jesus, on his last night with his friends, makes it clear that “keeping my commandments” is important - but it’s not the most important thing. He didn't leave them with a list of rules. He didn't say, “Keep my commandments, and then I’ll let you abide in me.” He left them with a promise: I will not leave you orphaned. I am going, but I am not going away. And that promise is still ours. The Spirit is with us, not as a reward for our faithfulness, but as a companion for our journey, calling us deeper into awareness, deeper into love. As we go deeper, as we abide more fully in God's love, we will find, almost without trying, that we start to love the way God loves: extravagantly, practically, with our whole selves..