It is better to just obey.
There you have it. Plain and simple. Take it and apply it to every
part of your life and you will become what God has in his mind for you to
be.
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| My friend, The Grinch |
I was talking the other day with a young man who shared
his feelings of despair and worthlessness. He was filled with thoughts of
giving up and running away. He didn't feel appreciated nor was he willing
to try any longer to do what he was being asked to do. He saw no hope in ever
being able to satisfy his boss and especially God. So he was willing to give up
everything and run away.
I told him that God was interested in him learning to obey his
boss so he could understand how to obey Him. I reminded him that Jesus said
that if we love Him, we will keep his commandments, his words, his sayings. The
operative words there are "If we love Him" and we need to come face
to face with the reality of whether we actually love God or not. It's not such
a hard thing to determine. We know if we really love God or not by how we
respond to what He asks us to do.
Just as with our earthly fathers and mothers, if they ask us to do
something, we respond in love when we say "Yes, Sir" or "Yes, Ma’am"
and go to do it. Even if we delay and then do it we are showing God we love him
by being obedient to his commands. And when we fail to do what He asks us to
do, we should immediately go to Him and ask forgiveness. If we find it hard to
do that we reap the rewards of guilt and shame as we continue to disobey.
Eventually, if we are His and we wish to be His, we will repent and turn
towards God again. We find that He is available and willing to forgive us and
receive us into His Grace again.
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| My friend, Mr. Scrooge |
So what should a young man do if he feels the way that this one
young man did? I suggested that he obey his boss, because his boss hired him to
do the job of doing what he asked him to do. It doesn't matter how his boss
wants him to do it. Even if this young man knew a better way, he should obey
his boss and do the job he was given to do. Then after obeying, when there was
opportunity, he could go to his boss and ask him about the manner in which the
job was to be performed. He could discuss it with his boss in an obedient
manner and find favor with his boss. Until he obeyed though, he didn't have the
ground to stand on for discussing how to do the task at hand. His obedience
showed his boss that he respected and loved him. He thought about it and
decided to change the way he was responding to his boss. He wanted to love him.
He also decided not to run away from the matter with God. Obeying
his boss was a part of the learning process of learning to love God. It is also
the part of the process of learning how to love those around him. He was
learning how to give up his life for God and others. He was learning how to
care more for others than himself; to put others needs in front of his own.
So this young man has a new perspective on his life and does not
want to run away any longer. He has found that life is in our Lord Jesus and to
have that life he will need to learn how to love him. And loving him means he
will needs to obey him. Thank God for his abundant mercy and grace that he pours
out towards us. I thank God for this young man. I love him very much.
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| My son, Mr. Happy |
Have a very merry Christmas and a happy New Year. Love those
around you and love God with all your heart. You won't regret it. You may
even find that in doing what you are given to obey, you may become wise and
able to lead others to be obedient as well. Not that wisdom or leading others
is the end of obedience. The end is to be in a perfect relationship with God
and all that are around you. To love those who may not even give a hoot about
you. Even love the ones who hate you. Take some time this season and practice
loving. Love God and all he has put in your life.
Did I wish you a Merry Christmas?
Have a Merry, Merry Christmas!
