Articles
Obey God from the Heart
Gerald Paden told the following story when I was a student at Sunset International Bible Institute in Lubbock...
A man was driving to work. He didn’t have much time before he would be late. As he turned the corner, he saw a flashing street sign. He had come to a 15 mile-per-hour school zone. Just what he needed! Filled with annoyance and impatience, he begrudgingly slowed down. He didn’t have the time or money to deal with a ticket.
The man had just slowed to the legally required speed when a young boy recklessly ran in front of him. Startled, he instantly pressed the brake pedal as hard as he could, quickly coming to a stop. Even so, he had come within inches of a hit. His slow speed was the only reason he had avoided hitting the boy.
Rage welled up in the man, and he started to roll down the window to curse the boy. But in the next instant, he realized that he knew the boy very well. The child was the man’s very own son! At that moment, the man went from unhappily complying with that speed limit to agreeing with and loving it. He understood that the speed limit wasn’t a burden. It was a protector of life.
We may initially see God’s laws, rules, and instructions as restrictive, limiting, and burdensome. But when we see the results of obeying and submitting to God, as opposed to doing things our way (Pro 14:12), we will come to understand that God isn’t putting his thumb down on us, he is leading us along the path to life.
Obey God. Practice godliness. See that God’s ways are good. “Oh, taste and see that the LORD is good! Blessed is the man who takes refuge in him!” (Psa 34:8)
Learn to love God’s ways. “My soul keeps your testimonies; I love them exceedingly.” (Psa 119:167)
God’s ways are the path to life, so don’t begrudgingly submit to God. Obey God from the heart. “But thanks be to God, that you who were once slaves of sin have become obedient from the heart to the standard of teaching to which you were committed, and, having been set free from sin, have become slaves of righteousness.” (Rom 6:17-18) -Paul
