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Obedience

 "But Samuel replied: “Does the Lord delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as much as in obeying the voice of the Lord? To obey is better than sacrifice, and to heed is better than the fat of rams." 1 Samuel 15:22

Part of acting upon God’s plan for our lives is being obedient to His word.  Obedience is defined as an act or instance of obeying or the state of being obedient. 

Some years ago a passenger train was rushing into New York as another train was emerging. There was a head-on collision. Fifty lives were lost. An engineer was pinned under his engine, frightfully injured, and tears were running down his cheeks. In his dying agonies he held a piece of yellow paper crushed in his hand, and said: “Take this. This will show you that someone gave me the wrong orders.”

The Apostle Peter reminds us, “As obedient children, do not conform to the evil desires you had when you lived in ignorance.”  I Peter 1:14   On a regular basis we must challenge ourselves to either follow the evil desires of the world or the word of God. 

It is interesting to note that this struggle is not new to mankind.  In Genesis 2:16 we read, “And the Lord God commanded the man…” And later (3:11), “Have you eaten from the tree that I commanded you not to eat from”.  God made obedience to His command as one virtue of Paradise, the one condition of man abiding there, the one thing his Creator asked of him. Nothing is said of faith or humility or love because obedience covers it all.

In the last word from God we once again read about the importance of obedience.  “Blessed are those who do His commandments, that they may have the right to the tree of life” Rev. 22:14.  From beginning to end, from Paradise lost to Paradise regained, the law is unchanged:  It is obedience that gives access to the tree of life and the favor of God.

Have a blessed week.  Pray for the families of the victims from 9-11.

Jim