Obedience Rooted in Love
You shall therefore love the Lord your God and keep his charge, his statutes, his rules, and his commandments always. (Deuteronomy 11:1 ESV)
“I forgot real quick,” my younger daughter says when I scold her for doing something I asked her not to do a few minutes earlier. Her brutal honesty is humorous after the fact, but her immediate disobedience is taxing in the moment.
My older daughter, on the other hand, usually says “I didn’t hear you” when I catch her not following my instructions. This response is a bit like Adam and Eve’s in the garden when they’re caught in their sin and try to hide their guilt. That’s because “I didn’t hear you” actually means “I heard you, but I chose not to listen and obey.” Her dishonesty is frustrating but relatable.
Like my daughters, I, too, struggle to submit to authority and obey commands. I sometimes ignore God’s prompting and either “forget real quick” or pretend I didn’t understand him. But if I’m not obedient to his authority, how can I expect my children to be obedient to mine? If I choose not to follow the rules God put in place for me, why would I expect anything different from my girls? They learn from my example more than from my words.
As a counterphobic Enneagram 6, I’m extremely critical of power structures, always checking for flaws in the system and leery of trusting leaders without confirmation of their honesty and competence. But God doesn’t deserve this kind of scrutiny and pessimism. He is, after all, God. It’s not fair or logical to compare his eternal goodness to the ongoing failures of men, and although it’s only natural to question his methods, it’s ridiculous to assume the worst of his intentions or results.
In her new book, Remarkable Hope, author Shauna Letellier writes, “Jesus may shock and surprise us, but he does not ultimately disappoint.”
Does God allow us the free will to make mistakes? Yes. Does he allow us to go through pain and struggles to refine us? Of course. But does he wish us harm? Never. He protects and leads us as part of his perfect plan for his people.
We sometimes forget the difference between punishment and discipline. We must stop living as if God is out to punish us. As our loving Father, God wants to reward us richly, but he can’t do that when we disobey. Likewise, I want so badly to reward my daughters, but I can’t do that when they misbehave. We must experience consequences when we break the rules.
I can offer my children mercy and forgiveness time and time again, but their actions won’t bear good fruit until they learn to honor and obey my husband and me as their parents. It’s the same with God and us, his rebellious children. He forgives and he is merciful, but he is also just.
God richly blesses our obedience to him, not our rebellion against him. He desires to mature us through submission to his will because he loves us. He teaches us patience, gentleness, and self-control through the perpetual denial of our own autonomy and our acceptance of his authority. He asks us to trust him alone because he knows and wants the very best for us.
God never abuses his power because his power is love. All other power is counterfeit and temporary and will ultimately end. Only God will remain.
Divine power usurps any earthly injustice. We don’t turn a blind eye to human abuses of power, but we also don’t despair. We know God will make all things right in the end. We demonstrate our faith by following his greatest command to “love one another.” We show our love for him by obeying his command to love others above ourselves.
If I want my children to submit to my authority, I must first show them that I submit to God’s authority by loving him and his people. I must teach them that true obedience is rooted in love.
Father, please help us remember that following you means loving you through loving your people well. Help us willingly submit to your authority with humility and gratitude. Help us put you and others first. May we fulfill your commands and bear good fruit from our obedience. Amen.
Scripture for Reflection
A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. (John 13:34 ESV)
We love because he first loved us. (1 John 4:19 ESV)
Reach for More
Are you disobeying God’s command to love him and his people either through willful rebellion or through unintentional complacency? Ask him to show you how you can more fully submit to his authority this week.
writes about her journey as a wife, mom to two little girls and Alzheimer’s daughter in her native Austin, Texas, at For the Love of Dixie. Her first book, Where Did My Sweet Grandma Go? was published in 2016. She thrives on green tea, Tex-Mex, and all things turquoise.
Photograph © Tamara Bellis, used with permission
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