Anyone who does wrong will be repaid for their wrongs, and there is no favoritism.
Colossians 3:25
The word “no” is perhaps the most used word in the world. Think about it: it’s so much easier to say no than it is to say yes. One of our sons named his cute stuffed puppy “No-No” when he was about three. I’ll just let that name sink in for a while and all the possible reasons for him naming it that.
When my mom said the word no to one of my many millions of requests, it didn’t really mean no. It was more like, “Are you kidding? Another request for me to do something? To give you permission to do something? Give me a break.”
After a while I’d ask again, but this time in a sweet and kind voice. If I got another no, then it got serious. I’d pull out the big guns. Sometimes I’d work up a bunch of big crocodile tears and plead that everyone else had it or was doing it. Then I’d move up the guilt food chain with bribery. I’d promise to do extra chores. To clean up my room. To go to the store down the street for milk and bread.
Most of the time I’d wear my mom down. I was a highly energetic kid that kept asking. And asking. And asking. And asking. You get the point. Eventually she’d say yes just to get me off her back and out of the room.
But my dad was another story. With him, no was no. And that was final. You’d better be really careful about repeating the same request to my dad. It was more of a long-term strategy game with him. You had to wait for the right time to bring it up again. And when you did you’d better be ready to run or duck if he remembered that this was a repeat request.
Thankfully God’s not like this. He’s wildly different from us. He already knows what’s good for us. What’s best for us. And he doesn’t play hide and seek with it. And while he doesn’t have to, he sweetens his will for us with rewards. He promises blessings and rewards in heaven.
This isn’t some karma-like approach where we do more good than bad in this life to come back in the next life one step closer to eternal enlightenment. Or if we do more bad than good, we slip down and stay longer on the treadmill of life and death.
Everyone, and I mean everyone, will get what they’ve earned. We have the promise of God to trust. To let him take care of. God is everywhere and knows everything that those people did to deeply hurt you and your family. Nothing gets past God. We can depend on him for justice.
Funny thing though, I never had to ask my parents for food. Three meals a day almost magically appeared on the table without me lifting a finger. I never had to shop or pay for food to eat or clothes to wear. Clean clothes just seemed to appear out of nowhere. We just moved into a house that was filled with furniture. It came complete with electricity for lights and the TV. There was natural gas to cook food and give us warmth.
You see, just because I was their child, there were many great benefits. I didn’t have to do a thing to receive so much. But there was a responsibility to do certain things that I was told. I was to obey them because of who they were and all they’d already done for me. It’s a picture of our relationship with our Heavenly Father. When we become his son or daughter in Jesus Christ[1], we get all the benefits of being a child of the king. We get to come to him with all our problems. All our hurts. All our joys. All our questions. But being his child doesn’t guarantee that we won’t have trouble and pain in this life.
The big, eternal payoff for responding to God’s love through willing obedience comes in heaven. Yes, there are somethings that God gives in this life for following him. But that’s not to be our motivation for obedience.
I’m going to say something that most people aren’t going to like. If we obey God just to get the goodies in this life, to receive blessings today, that’s just another word for selfishness. It’s to twist God’s arm to get what you want. When you want it. How you want it. We need to follow Jesus’ prayer life about receiving things from our Heavenly Father. In the garden of Gethsemane, he asks God for something. But how does he ask? Does he demand that God do what he wants?
yet not my will, but yours be done.
Luke 22:42
Will we hear Jesus’ words? Will we follow his lead? We need to give up our demanding attitude that God owes us something. Owes us everything. And replace it with the humility and joy of letting God be God. Letting his will be done. Isn’t that what Jesus said when he taught his disciples to pray[2]?
It’s time to stop all this selfishness. This attitude that we absolutely know what’s best for us. For our family. For our country. It’s time to pack it up and ship it off once and for all. To abandon our greed and to place ourselves in the hands of the one who loves us. Who made us. Who died for us. Who’s coming for us. He’s more than dependable. He’ll always, always, always do what’s right and best because that’s who he is. Will you trust him today?
Noodling Questions
How has our list of things that are right changed over time? Explain.
What can we do to deepen our childlike dependence on God?
List three areas that you need to abandon to God. Why these three?
[1] Ephesians 1:5
[2] Matthew 6:10
Comments