God has always required obedience. Yet, God requires that obedience which rises out of a heart of love and gratitude. Paul spoke of the love of Christ as that which ought to motivate us to live for the One who died and rose again on our behalf (2 Cor. 5:14-15). Jesus identified the greatest command, saying, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind” (Matt. 22:37). Without love in the heart, our service to God is but empty ritual (Isa. 29:13).
On the other hand, genuine love will express itself in complete and unconditional obedience to the commands of our Lord. Jesus says, “If you love Me, you will keep My commandments” (Jn. 14:15). If we say we love the Lord, while deliberately disregarding His word, our religion is nothing but pretense. Jesus questioned those who were living according to human tradition, asking, “And why do you call Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ and do not do what I say?” (Lk. 6:46). God has always desired obedience from the heart. When King Saul failed to obey the voice of the Lord, Samuel explained the significance of his disobedience, saying, “Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to heed than the fat of rams” (1 Sam. 15:22). A lifetime of worshipping God means nothing without a daily walk in obedience to His will. Hebrews 5:9 tells us that Jesus became to “all those who obey Him the source of eternal salvation.” If we would truly please God, we must learn and practice obedience from the heart.
— Glen Elliott —