Obey

In today’s devotion* from Ephesians, the word “obey” was once again emphasized. In today’s society, none of us want to include this term in our ever-growing To Do lists. The connotation is almost a blind following without any of our own input. We need to “obey” our boss, the police, and our mothers according to what is good for them. Forget us! Blindly help them – AGAIN - despite our busy calendars.

I checked out the word in the dictionary to find the word “comply” as a synonym. At least this verb shows a little more mental dexterity with even a possible payback in the future. My first instinct when I think of this word is of children who need to obey and be obedient without a second (or third) word uttered. They need to carry out commands. Eat your vegetables. Go put on your shoes. Brush your teeth. Buy me a fantastic Mother’s Day gift. (Well the last one isn’t in there, but you need to train them often and early.)

Who should I obey? Not one darn person because I have the gray hair from years of doing for others. (I guess I am a little testy this morning.) I need to obey the police and the laws. I can’t think of any others although I admit grandmothers are so adored because we almost always obey the grandkids. I guess I should listen to my hubby too. We’ll see about the obey part.

The word “obey” is in the Bible 206 times, 163 of those in the Old Testament. Most of those are in reference to our actions with God. Obey the Lord is in there a whopping 86 times. No wonder we Christians could have a bad image, particularly if those are the references we use when talking about our faith with others. But if we focus on those words, we lose all the power of this Lenten period for we should obey Christ because that is what our heart tells us. What a huge difference, for when I follow my heart, I make decisions that I want. I do what comes naturally because of my love. That makes my reference to grandmothers pretty accurate. Items just pop into my cart; it’s not me!

I want to “obey” Christ because He has been pretty darn nice to me. Look at all my blessings that cushion these old bones. I have a husband who loves me. My relationship with my daughter’s family is strong. Many friends’ phone numbers have been collected into my phone. (There’s a slew of doctors’ contact information too, but I’m blessed for those too!) People care about us! Darn life is good! I have a roof over my head with walls thrown in to boot. The refrigerator is stocked with food, too much of it really. (Our elastic waistlines prove that fact.) We have cars to use for our own convenience even though we need a new home mortgage to pay for the gas. Thanks God! Life is good. Now throw in the whole eternal life and holy tamolee, you bet I will obey. I’m listening God! I hear you with my heart. Life is very good!

God Uses My Chronic Pain to Prove that Life is Good

      -  Check out all the medical attention we receive for our aches and wobbles. My goodness, life is good!

*  It’s Wednesday, so once again this blog uses the verses from www.goodmorninggirls.org.  Check it out!