BLESSINGS THROUGH OBEDIENCE

-

At one point in time, all of us would have wondered why did God create the tree of knowledge in the center of the garden and forbid Adam and Eve from eating of its frits when he was sure they would break the rule? 

The fact that God knew Adam and Eve would eat of the forbidden fruit is His foreknowledge and not pre-determination.

If we would not accept this fact, we can keep questioning everything. Why did God create Cain and Abel when he knew Abel would be killed? Why did God create the whole of mankind if he knew all of them except Noah’s family would be destroyed in flood?

If God would wilfully avoid any circumstance/incident that would lead us to sin, where is our act of obedience do God? The term obedience loses its significance.

But as you skim through the pages of the Bible, you would read of the blessings of God through the simple yet difficult act of obedience.

Abraham obeyed God and received great blessings. In fact, his obedience was accounted to him as righteousness. Noah created the ark in simple obedience to God’s word. He endured the mocking and scornful words of those around him.  But at the end he received the blessing he had patiently waited for in complete obedience. While whole of the human race was destroyed, God protected and saved Noah and his family.

A small act of obedience carries with it a great sum of blessings!

Our God cannot tolerate disobedience in any form. Some people are involved in partial obedience to please God. No! God does not consider partial obedience. For God, that is as good as disobedience. Remember Saul’s partial obedience brought a great punishment on him. He killed everything as God commanded but spared the best of the animals and the king of Amalek. In fact, he even had reasons to justify his action. But what was God’s response?

1 Sam 15:22,23
‘Has the Lord as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as in obeying the voice of the Lord. Behold to obey is better than sacrifice and to heed that the fat of rams. For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry.’

God demands complete devotion and complete obedience. 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Why I Believe

-
I was born in a Hindu Brahmin family. My mother, Jayanthi, was a pious lady and she religiously offered daily prayers to several images of gods and goddesses in our house. I remember as a little child, I and my sister used to sit beside her early in the Tuesday and Friday mornings, watching her chant the mantras and sing the  bhajans (slogans). We did not miss a single festival – these were times of great celebrations. Our balcony, corridor and entrance were filled with lights – light from the diyas (candles). There was so much fun - new dresses, relatives and friends at home! We had all that we wanted in life. Both my parents were working in a bank. My grandparents took good care of us, when our parents were away at work. We were financially able to look after ourselves in the expensive city of Mumbai. But in spite of having everything and despite persistent prayers, my mom felt something was missing – the peace she was longing for.  Things went on. Amidst several health...
Read more

A God who Satisfies

-
Image
We have a God who satisfies all our needs And when they measured it by the omer, the one who gathered much did not have too much, and the one who gathered little did not have too little. Everyone had gathered just as much as they needed. Exodus 16:18 God led the people out of Egypt. In Egypt, Pharaoh asked Joseph to choose the best land for his household and he chose the land of Goshen. Goshen was one of the best lands in Egypt, a fertile land, a land for crops and livestock. In years, a new Pharaoh came to power who did not know about Joseph or what he did to save the people of Israel. The people of Israel came into bondage, but still, they had enough food to eat because their land produced enough for them. When they were led into the wilderness, we see a sharp contrast. They were in bondage earlier, but now they are free. However, they had enough to eat, now they are starving. So they were grumbling against Moses and Aaron and in doing so they were grumbling against God. ...
Read more

God and Science

-
Image
Does God really exist? This is a foundational spiritual question that all of us would have asked ourselves at some point in time. The Bible provides us with the answer. In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.  Genesis 1:1 The first verse in the Bible is the foundation of the rest of the Bible and is fundamental to our understanding of who God is. As a child, and perhaps even as an adult, we have all gone crazy at least one point in time, as we think about how this whole existence of life began. If scientists say, everything has evolved over billions of years, the question remains - when and how did the first particle come? How did the sun, moon and stars find their place in the universe? Even as you grapple with those questions, the Bible opens with an answer. In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. As simple as it may sound, this is so profound and may take a lifetime to analyse. It answers three important questions: when, who, what? The q...
Read more