Obedience part 2
Faith and obedience. Kind of like how love and life are not just connected, but the same thing... faith and obedience are really the same thing. Look at Genesis 15:6 (NLT), "And Abram belived the LORD, and the LORD counted him as righteous because of his faith." If you trust God, you'll do what He says. Period. Because you'll trust that He KNOWS what's best. Come on, guys, He knows the end from the beginning. He IS the beginning and the end. And He doesn't expect blind faith from us. He first (and consistently, always) proved Himself faithful. Look at Romans 10:17 (NLT), "So faith comes from hearing, that is, hearing the Good News about Christ." It's the Divine Order of knowing and believing. Because you can't believe what you don't know. You have to know it first. Then you can believe it. Faith comes from hearing the Word. Which is Jesus, which is love. First you hear the still, small voice deep inside saying, "I love you" with every beat of God's heart in your chest... then you let that love that is inside you come out. Know it and believe it. Receive it and release it. Think about it, God counted Abraham's faith as righteousness. God told Abraham to go... and Abraham went. It's really that simple. And I have a whole podcast episode on this (The Father of Faith) if you're interested in hearing more about it. But the bottom line is trusting God and doing what He says. That, to me, is where our personal responsibility comes in. Like, you can lead a horse to water, but you can't make it drink, right? God can show us what to do, or tell us what to do, but then WE have to do it. And, yes, it is the power of God working in us both to will and to do of His good pleasure. I'm not saying we do what He says in our own power. Exactly the opposite. We AGREE to do what He says, and then HE does it in us, and through us, and as us. Giving up the wheel doesn't mean getting out of the car. Look at 1 Corinthians 3:9, "For we are labourers together wtih God: ye are God's husbandry, ye are God's building." Co-laborers with Christ. We do what we do because HE is doing it in us, adn through us, and as us. Did I already mention that? My dad taught me the best way to learn is through repetition, so I'm going to keep mentioning it. Keep saying it until somebody hears it. Faith. Obedience. Righteousness. And here's the thing--when you know God will never lead you astray or steer you wrong, it's easy to trust Him. Easy to let go and let God. Easy to do what He tells you to do. Because at that point you will understand that it is the best possible thing to do. It might not always look like, or feel like, the most FUN thing to do. But there is more to life than just having fun. And, really, when you start to experience love on that level--receiving it and releasing it--you will be able to understand what FUN really is. Some of my happiest moments in life were when I gave someone something. It truly is more blessed to give than to receive. And, yes, you have to receive first so that you HAVE something to give. But the ultimate culmination and fulfillment comes in giving what you've got. Because love is giving. If you're being selfish, you're missing out on what life really has to offer. If you're being selfless, you're being obedient, and you're experiencing life to the fullest. The abundant life that Jesus came so that we might have. And what makes the abundant life abundant? Love! Love is literally the difference between life and death. And love is the reason that we CAN trust God. He loves us. That means we can trust Him. He loves us. That means we can do what He says without worrying about it!