"I cried with my whole heart; hear me, O Lord: I will keep thy statutes.
I cried unto thee; save me, and I shall keep thy testimonies."
Psalms 119:145-146
Sometimes we think it is unfair of God to ask for obedience. Why can't he just save us, even if we have no intention of following his commandments? Doesn't he love us?
I think there are several things at work here that it is good to remember. First, if we believe that love doesn't mean doing everything someone else wants just because they want it, that has to work both ways. God isn't forcing or compelling us to follow him, and we can't force or compel him to do things for us. That kind of manipulation, either way, isn't love. God's love is always there, but (as with any parent), that doesn't mean that he is going to give in to every tantrum, or buy us every toy. He's trying to teach us to grow past the toddler stage and learn and understand a lot more about ourselves. He's a good parent. He isn't going to protect us from learning the things that we need to learn. Instead, he is going to help us learn them.
The second thing it might be good to remember here is that obedience is for our benefit. Obedience isn't some bizarre ritual that feeds our power to God, keeping him powerful. Obedience is only following the rules that God has laid out both to help us stay safe and to give us the best chance to learn... again, like any good parent. In these verses, we are effectively saying "Save me and I will do my best not to put myself into this situation again." or "Save me, and I'll do my best to stay saved."
Today, let's try not to discount obedience, or to think that God loves us less when we are disobedient. Let's be obedient because that is the only way to become what we can be, and to stay safe when God pulls us out of the next hole.
I cried unto thee; save me, and I shall keep thy testimonies."
Psalms 119:145-146
Sometimes we think it is unfair of God to ask for obedience. Why can't he just save us, even if we have no intention of following his commandments? Doesn't he love us?
I think there are several things at work here that it is good to remember. First, if we believe that love doesn't mean doing everything someone else wants just because they want it, that has to work both ways. God isn't forcing or compelling us to follow him, and we can't force or compel him to do things for us. That kind of manipulation, either way, isn't love. God's love is always there, but (as with any parent), that doesn't mean that he is going to give in to every tantrum, or buy us every toy. He's trying to teach us to grow past the toddler stage and learn and understand a lot more about ourselves. He's a good parent. He isn't going to protect us from learning the things that we need to learn. Instead, he is going to help us learn them.
The second thing it might be good to remember here is that obedience is for our benefit. Obedience isn't some bizarre ritual that feeds our power to God, keeping him powerful. Obedience is only following the rules that God has laid out both to help us stay safe and to give us the best chance to learn... again, like any good parent. In these verses, we are effectively saying "Save me and I will do my best not to put myself into this situation again." or "Save me, and I'll do my best to stay saved."
Today, let's try not to discount obedience, or to think that God loves us less when we are disobedient. Let's be obedient because that is the only way to become what we can be, and to stay safe when God pulls us out of the next hole.
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