10/15/18 - Philemon

Oct 15, 2018

In Christ I could order you to do what you ought to do, yet I prefer to appeal to you on the basis of love. Philemon 1:8-9

God doesn't want obligational obedience, He wants passionate pursuit --- make it your passion to obey.

A boy was unhappy that his mother called him in for dinner, and continued to stand in defiance.  Mom realized this was a battle of the wills that she needed to win, and insisted he sit at the table with the family.  Eventually her authority (and maybe her size), won the argument, and the boy sat at the table.  But as he sat, he exclaimed in pride:  “I may be sitting on the outside, but I am standing on the inside!”

Sometimes people treat God the same way.  We don’t like His principles, and don’t want His instructions.  In our own arrogance, we’d rather go out and play instead of do what He asks.  Maybe we actually know He is right, but prefer to live out our own ways instead.   And when things go bad, we “sit” because we HAVE to, but not because we WANT to.  It might not be stated, but we’re still “standing on the inside”.

God is the best parent, and He’s not interested in us obeying out of obligation or coercion.  God is interested in us knowing and understanding His will.  He wants our passion to obey, out of love for Him instead of trying to get something from Him.  Forced obedience does nothing to help us know Him better. 

Here’s what God does when we have passion to obey:

-          It saves time & energy – just ask the Israelites who turned an 11-day journey into a 40 year trip.

-          It protects our families – learn from David, who damaged his family from one night of disobedience

-          It saves people, and often saves us – just look at Jonah.

-          It releases miraculous power – see what happened to Paul when He obeyed God’s whispers.

All of us have authorities in life, and it brings glory to God when we obey them wholeheartedly.  Obedience out of obligation may accomplish the task, but it doesn’t breed unity.  DESIRING to obey is what brings glory and breeds unity.  Make it your DESIRE to obey.  Don’t be “standing on the inside” … be “sitting” even before you’re asked to J.