Love and Obedience are Connected - I Samuel 15-16 and Luke 10:25-42
Saul did not obey the Lord's command to destroy all of the Amalekites and their possessions, because his heart was not right. He did not love the Lord completely. Therefore, God rejected him from being the king, not on the basis of one or two actions, but on the basis of his heart condition. On the other hand, God selected David to be king, because of his heart. He was a man after God's own heart, because he had chosen to love the Lord completely. Therefore, God knew David would obey Him. Many people do not recognize this truth, but it is vital. Think of your love for another person. What does it motivate you to do? You want to be with that person, and you want to do anything to please him or her. Your love is a choice and not a feeling, but once you choose to love another person, it is easy to obey him. It is the highest motivation, and it is the only proper motivation for doing God's will. That is why Samuel told Saul that to obey is better than sacrifice. There are some people that want to replace love with works. The problem is that the works are always what they choose to do, instead of what God wants them to do. God wants us to love Him and to do His will out of love for Him.
That is what Jesus was showing the lawyer in Luke 10, too. The lawyer knew the answer to His question about having eternal life. He knew the facts of the Bible, but he did not have love for the Lord. How can we tell that? He was looking for a way to only love the people he wanted to love, instead of loving everyone like Jesus does. Therefore, Jesus told him the parable of the Good Samaritan. That parable showed the lawyer that his love was not complete, because he would never have done that for a Samaritan or another person he did not like. When Jesus said go and do likewise, He was not urging the man to try to save himself by works. Jesus was telling him to get his heart right so he could do things like that. How is your obedience to God? Do you realize that an obedience problem is a love problem? Get your love for the Lord right, and you will gladly obey Him.
Tomorrow, I intend to read I Samuel 17-18 and Luke 11:1-28.
That is what Jesus was showing the lawyer in Luke 10, too. The lawyer knew the answer to His question about having eternal life. He knew the facts of the Bible, but he did not have love for the Lord. How can we tell that? He was looking for a way to only love the people he wanted to love, instead of loving everyone like Jesus does. Therefore, Jesus told him the parable of the Good Samaritan. That parable showed the lawyer that his love was not complete, because he would never have done that for a Samaritan or another person he did not like. When Jesus said go and do likewise, He was not urging the man to try to save himself by works. Jesus was telling him to get his heart right so he could do things like that. How is your obedience to God? Do you realize that an obedience problem is a love problem? Get your love for the Lord right, and you will gladly obey Him.
Tomorrow, I intend to read I Samuel 17-18 and Luke 11:1-28.