Why I want to change, grow, and obey…
Jan 4th, 2012 by ljkim
People think I want to obey so that I can get more of God’s favor… or because I don’t want to get punished. So when bad things happen, people naturally wonder if they’re being punished… And many people in the church want to do “just enough” so that they don’t get bad stuff from God. I even kid around and tell people, “if you do that Jesus is going to kick your a**!” But that’s not really true. And that’s not why I want to do what God wants: because I know God is on my side… God is on your side too: He loves SINNERS who say one thing and do another, who don’t follow through, people who fail, and have even intentionally made bad decisions, people who knowingly disobey him… God loves sinners like me, so I’m not worried about Jesus kicking my butt at the moment. But the reason why I want to do what He wants me to do is because I trust him.
Trusting God means that the stuff he wants for me is actually GOOD. Like trusting a chef who says, “I know this looks weird but just taste this…” Or trusting a surgeon who says, “we’re going to put you under and cut you open to remove something…” When people really know what they’re doing, and they’re on your side, you can trust them. If you trust them, then you obey. If you don’t trust them, you can argue, disagree, and not give them a chance. But as a student of life, and Scripture, what I’m learning is that God can be trusted.
God is NOT trying to spoil your fun… Even when he says things like no sex outside marriage, or no porn, or no making idols out of work, or to focus more on inner beauty than outer beauty (for women to adorn themselves with good works rather than fine clothes and expensive jewelry). He says these things so you can know true love, and have a great sex life, and a great career, and really be drop dead gorgeous. [Those aren't the only things God wants you to do, but they're the ones that come up often when people just get started with this. ]
God isn’t mad at me when I fail; he’s on my side. So when I do fail in some way I can run to him and ask for help. I can take a good hard look at my failures, and look at them together with God, because I know he’s not judging me. And oddly, because I know he’s not judging me (since Jesus has taken all judgment for me), I actually WANT to change. God is not calling me to holiness (that much maligned English word) to live up to some arbitrary standard; He’s calling me to holiness because holiness and happiness go together!
Happy people are content. Happy people don’t make idols out of career or money. Happy people are faithful to one another and to God. Happy people are people who keep their promises and appointments. Happy people are people who carry other people’s burdens. Happy people are people who make a difference in this world by living like Jesus… Because the stuff God wants is actually good for us, and makes life awesome.
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Hi Pastor Leo. Happy New Year! Hope you and Grace are doing well. Just want to say that your posts are soo encouraging and totally help us have the right attitude towards God and life. We miss you guys!!
Thanks Anna and happy new year! We miss you guys too!