And how it's the total antithesis of everything we are taught today.
So, you know, nothing too serious.
The funny thing about God is that he tells us essentially the same thing our parents tell us when we are little---
"Because I said so."
And there might be an explanation, and there might not. And it might take 5 seconds (in the way that we realize quickly why Mommy shouted "STOP" as we were running into the street) and it might take 5 years (in the way that we realize slowly why Mommy said "You cannot date that boy" many years later) and it might not come at all.
Hebrews 11:1 says "Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen." I think we usually take this verse in the context of blessings--- I'm going to have faith for something I don't have right now. But we also have to take it in the context of obedience--- we have to have faith that there is a substance, a reason, a "why" to what we're doing even if we don't see it at that moment, even if it doesn't make sense.
But that's not our way of life, is it? We do things because they have a reason, or because no one has given us a good enough reason not to do them. We don't "obey," we choose to follow, or choose to not follow. If someone tells us "no," we want to know "why not?" And if someone tells us "go," we want to know "why?"
That's not how God works. God wants our obedience, not our acquiescence. God doesn't want us to do something because we decided it's a good idea, because it makes sense in our crazy logic, because it serves us, because it's fun or pleasant or popular. God wants us to do it BECAUSE HE SAID SO.
Even the things in our lives that we *have to* obey aren't really concrete. How many times have I gone over the speed limit (broken the law, let's be honest here) because I thought "Well, when I get caught, I'll suffer the consequences." How many times have I downloaded a song onto my computer without paying for it, thinking "No one will ever know." I think that mindset extends deep down into our Christianity. We read the bible and think that "obey" really means "you probably aught to..." And we also think "Hey, I'll deal with the consequences *if* I get caught."
But here's the kicker: God knows. You always "get caught." You are caught before you even do it; God isn't a cop with a radar gun that we can avoid if we take the right streets. He's not an anti-piracy commission that's only going to go after the kids ripping off millions of dollars. He's God. He's there. He tells us (for hundreds of pages, thousands of verses) "This is what I want you to do, and this is what will happen when you don't." Isn't that crazy? I'm thinking about my life and thinking "How many things am I paying the price for right at this second because I let myself be deceived by the mindset that I would just deal with the consequences *if* I got caught?"
Don't get me wrong--- I feel like I have to add the obligatory "Jesus loves you" (He does) and "You can't lose your salvation once you've accepted Him" (you can't). But there are consequences for our actions.
How many things in the bible have I been waiting to obey, or accept, until I understand them? And how PRIDEFUL does that make me--- to say to the maker of the world, the Lord of all, "I'll do this once you give me a good reason. I'll obey that law once I feel like it."
“For no good tree bears bad fruit, nor again does a bad tree bear good fruit, for each tree is known by its own fruit. For figs are not gathered from thornbushes, nor are grapes picked from a bramble bush. The good person out of the good treasure of his heart produces good, and the evil person out of his evil treasure produces evil, for out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks.
“Why do you call me ‘Lord, Lord,’ and not do what I tell you?
Everyone who comes to me and hears my words and does them, I will show you what he is like: he is like a man building a house, who dug deep and laid the foundation on the rock. And when a flood arose, the stream broke against that house and could not shake it, because it had been well built. But the one who hears and does not do them is like a man who built a house on the ground without a foundation. When the stream broke against it, immediately it fell, and the ruin of that house was great.” ---Luke 6:43-49
No comments:
Post a Comment