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Obedience: An obligation not a suggestion

John 14: 15 

“If you love me, you will keep my commandments” 

When thinking about the idea of Obedience, the first thing that comes to mind is probably parents, and honestly you wouldn’t be far off with that assumption. Ever had your Dad or your Mum ask you to do something? I’m sure everyone has, right? Well, Obedience would be doing the thing your parents asked you to do. 

It probably sounds very simple: doing what you’ve been told. However, when we take that very same premise and apply it with God, it becomes much more complex. We tend to complicate what was just a simple instruction into a multitude of worries, fear and eventual passiveness. Why? When God asks us to do things, for some reason, we believe it’s our way or the highway. Stemming from a form of rebellion, we believe that somehow, we know more than God, that somehow, we have this life figured out. 


There are two potential reasons as to why we may be disobedient when it comes to God: for one God’s instructions often times can be quite inconvenient to what we have going on in our life. Whether it’s fear or our emotions take over, whenever God asks us to do something it can be quite intimidating. This is normal but it is also important remembering that God’s instructions are never not included with his own presence. He promises us that he will never leave or forsake us.  

The second reason why we may be disobedient is a struggle to discern his voice. Looking back at my life, there has been countless times where God has told me to do something, but I struggled knowing that it was him talking. Discerning God’s voice stems from knowing him, and the only way to know him is by knowing what he says i.e. The Bible.  

Looking at the verse, we can’t love someone enough to keep his commandments if you don’t know them. So, Obedience stems from a knowledge of who you are being obedient to but recognising that it is not a suggestion but rather an obligation.  


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