Meditation
 
I MUST CHOOSE TO OBEY GOD IN FAITH   Dr. Rick Warren
 
Every time you trust God’s wisdom and do whatever he says, even when you don’t understand it, you deepen your friendship with God. We don’t normally think of obedience as a characteristic of friendship; that’s reserved for relationships with a parent or the boss or a superior officer, not a friend. However, Jesus made it clear that obedience is a condition of intimacy with God. He said, “You are my friends if you do what I command.”

In the last chapter I pointed out that the word Jesus used when he called us “friends” could refer to the “friends of the king” in a royal court. While these close companions had special privileges, they were still subject to the king and had to obey his commands.
We are friends with God, but we are not His equals. He is our loving leader, and we follow Him.
We obey God, not out of duty or fear or compulsion, but because we love Him and trust that He knows what is best for us. We want to follow Christ out of gratitude for all he has done for us, and the closer we follow Him, the deeper our friendship becomes.

Unbelievers often think Christians obey out of obligation or guilt or fear of punishment, but the opposite is true. Because we have been forgiven and set free, we obey out of love — and our obedience brings great joy! Jesus said, “I have loved you even as the Father has loved me.
 
Remain in my love. When you obey me, you remain in my love, just as I obey my Father and remain in his love. I have told you this so that you will be filled with my joy. Yes, your joy will overflow!”

Notice that Jesus expects us to do only what He did with the Father. His relationship with His Father is the model for our friendship with Him. Jesus did whatever the Father asked Him to do — out of love.

True friendship isn’t passive; it acts. When Jesus asks us to love others; help the needy, share our resources, keep our lives clean, offer forgiveness, and bring others to Him, love motivates us to obey immediately.

We are often challenged to do great things for God. Actually, God is more pleased when we do small things for Him out of loving obedience. They may be unnoticed by others, but God notices them and considers them acts of worship.