Obedience versus Relationship

 

Obedience to God is all about relationship
By James Washington For The St. Louis American



I’m sure I’ve written on this before, but I thought the significance of obedience was important enough to repeat here. It occurs to me that obedience to God is, or certainly should be, an exercise in ‘want to’ as opposed to ‘have to.’

The analogy given in church is simple enough. When parents enforce rules and discipline with regard to their children, if the child is to respond out of respect and love, a relationship must exist between parent and child.


If a wholesome relationship does indeed exist, then the child’s love for the parent will result in that child wanting to comply.

If all one does is obey the rules because of the consequences and punishment associated with disobeying the rules, then the rules generally get thrown out the window when the rule-maker is no longer around.

I guess what I’m saying is that when grounded in love, people want to respond favorably according to the wishes and will of the person who is the object of that love. By our very nature we want to look good in the eyes of someone we’re trying to impress.

Jesus says, “If anyone loves me, he will obey my teaching.’’ John 14:23.

Examine this use of the term “obey.” What Christ is saying is the same thing that many a mother and a father believe about their kids.

First and foremost, we all know the things that would upset mom and dad. We know this because they spent a lifetime (yours) instilling values and integrity into your character.

You might still do things they wouldn’t condone, but you certainly know the difference between the right and wrong of it because of your upbringing. That upbringing, if nurtured in the spirit of love, reveals to all of us the source and nature of the consequences and the resulting discipline.

It’s all about love. Y’all know that ‘this is going to hurt me more than it’s gonna hurt you’ thing.



Christ is merely reminding us that if you love him, then obeying his rules, his teachings, which were given to us out of the love of the Father, should come from the heart. Our desire to please should override our mere compliance to the rules.

The point is obedience to God has so much more to do with wanting to do the right thing for the right reason, than doing the right thing because it is law, punishment notwithstanding.

One is the result of relationship and the other is the result of fear of consequence.

Throughout scripture, Jesus constantly refers to the love of the Father. How many of you do what your mother would expect of you and your mother has been dead for many a year? How many of you pass those same expectations along to your kids? Why?

I submit that you do this because of the relationship you had/have with your mother. That’s why I’m convinced that the key to understanding obedience to God is establishing, or for many of us re-establishing, a relationship with the Almighty. This is achieved by studying his word, getting inside of his commandments and examining the life of Jesus Christ, who because of a love thing with his Father, carried out Hhs Father’s wishes to the letter.

“I will not speak with you much longer, for the prince of this world is coming. He has no hold on me, but the world must learn that I love the Father and I do exactly what my Father has commanded me.’’ John 14:30-31.

To obey should be an act of love. Our goal should be to understand God’s love for us and to simply do our best to return it; acting accordingly, so to speak.

May God bless and keep you always.

Morning Prayer

O Lord, this is my desire,

to walk along the path of life that You have appointed me,

in steadfastness of faith,

in lowliness of heart,

in gentleness of love.

Let not the cares or duties of this life press on me too heavily;

but lighten my burdens,

that I may follow Your way in quietness,

filled with thankfulness for Your mercy, . . .

through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Amen

~ Maria Hare (1798-1870)

His Unconditional Love

When we first came to God, we came empty-handed, accepting everything He had to offer us by grace. Now God is calling on us to jettison the loads we carry and come to him empty-handed again - humble and repentant. He wants to renew our minds, transform us, and show us how to love Him and our world. We need to come to Him with upturned hands. God's love expressed through us toward Him and toward others is possible, but it's not our love - conditional; it's God's love - unconditional, with no nasty side effects and no strings attached. 

To be healed of all the pain caused by conditional love, we have to set aside all agendas and seek God for Himself.  The prayer of the heart - waiting in stillness and in silence - is truly the only way we can let go of our focus on ourselves and put it on God. It's the only way to find our heart's desire, the rest in His loving presence that He promises.

Jan Harris, Quiet in His Presence 

Silent Prayer

Be still and know that I am God - Psalm 46:10

Contemplative prayer  = being in God's presence without words

darkness = the absence of knowledge

The way to God is through love not knowledge ..............  "It is a darkness of unknowing that lies between you and your God.... He who no one can grasp by knowledge can be embraced by love" (author unknown)

Learn to be at home in this darkness. Paul stated in 1 Cor 13:12 - We see through a glass, darkly....

In our society we worship knowledge - the false god that no one dares attack. It is the greatest obstacle to experiencing the Reality that is beyond our intellect. Until we get a taste of the contemplative wisdom that permeates that Reality, our mind and our ego are the only gods we know. 

Adam and Eve chose to turn their backs on God to pursue knowledge. They chose to worship the false god of knowledge instead of responding to the true God of love. We face the same choice.

No one can fully comprehend the uncreated God with his knowledge. God created us in his image and likeness to love and worship him, the goal of our desire, and that it is He alone who fully satisfies the hunger and longing of our spirit. Our loving God makes Himself available to us through love.

We are drawn by grace to the contemplative work. In other words we are drawn or called by God to the prayer of love, to silent prayer - the prayer of unknowing. We do not choose ourselves; we are chosen. Our part is always to respond. This means that the simple, the ordinary and the uneducated - in other words, most of the world's population - can have a relationship with this marvelous God for whom love is ALL. No one is left out; everyone can approach God, for we all come clothed, not in knowledge but in love.

There is a stream of love that flows continuously between God the Father and Jesus the Son through the power of the Holy Spirit ................... step into it.

(excerpts from Quiet in His Presence by Jan Harris)