God Delights In Obedience

God Delights In Obedience

If we love Him, we will want to make Him happy
-- 1 Samuel 15:22
"And Samuel said, ''Has the Lord as much delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as in obeying the voice of the Lord? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice . .'"

--John 14:21,23
"He who has My [Jesus'] commandments and keeps them, he it is who loves Me; and He who loves Me shall be loved by my Father, and I will love him, and will disclose myself to him. . . If anyone loves me, he will keep my Word; and my Father will love him, and We will come to him, and make Our abode with him."

Obedience Will Make Your Relationship With Him Better

-- James 2:21-26
"Was not Abraham our father justified by works, when he offered up Isaac his son on the altar? You see that faith was working with his works, and as a result of the works, faith was perfected; and the Scripture was fulfilled which says, 'And Abraham believed God, and it was reckoned to him as righteousness,' and he was called the friend of God. You see that a man is justified by works, and not by faith alone. And in the same way was not Rahab the harlot also justified by works, when she received the messengers and sent them out by another way? For just as the body without the spirit is dead, so also faith without works is dead."

We could go on about what "justified" means, but without trying to stir theological debate, I must state here that I am one who believes man cannot lose salvation. Therefore, this passage describes the importance of obeying God in respect to our walk with Him beyond our initial salvation. What James is saying, then, is that our obedience does have a significance. Once we are saved, we can choose not to pursue Him aggressively, but we are the worse off for it.

If you are truly saved, and over time, you choose to follow the world instead, you will still have enter eternal life, but your walk with Him while in this life will not be rewarding. You will be missing out on all the joy and peace that comes packaged with a relationship with Him. You will try to replace that joy with the world's imperfect substitutes, which cannot satisfy. The question is, what kind of walk do YOU want to have?