Tuesday

Don't burn It and don't burn out!

"Does the Lord delight in burnt offerings as much as in obeying the voice of the Lord? To obey is better than sacrifice." Good words from Samuel to Saul. It was too late however for Saul, but not for us. I am thinking today that I am trying to do too much for God. When I plumb underneath that statement, I think the reality is that I like doing things and I label them, "For God." Ever feel that way? Ever feel like God wants us to be busy working hard? Yes and no.

I wonder if you ever get in this zone where you have alot going on and you feel like you are the one who has to do it. I wonder if we took our lists of things to do and just arbitrarily scratched off one thing, would it make a difference? Maybe. But, we should not scratch off obeying the voice of the Lord. So when He says, "Rest" I need to be obedient.

When He says I should pray, I should do that. Reflect on His greatness? Pause to appreciate creation? Think about the great salvation he has wrought? Sleep? There are lots of things that are not "work" but are commands for us to obey. "Take every thought captive to the mind of Christ, do not be anxious, be thankful, fix your eyes on Jesus etc"

Ever wonder how many of the commands are "do" and how many are "be?" "Do not put other God's before me." No work there, that is a "do not do." "Don't have any idols." No work there. "Remember the Sabbath." Sounds restful. "Do not kill. Do not steal." Seems like a pattern. I could be wrong here, but it seems balance is appropriate. And perhaps the less we do in our own strength, the more we will see Him do.

All this is not to say we should not be active. "Love your neighbor" requires we do something. "Honor your father and mother" is more then words. But, I am encouraged to see once again all the commands are not work. Some of us need to hear that.

The commands call us to be passive and active as Jesus was. They call us to stop trying to "knock it out of the park" and let a few balls go by the plate. They call us to rest in His work. In modern America that is revolutionary. Counter-cultural. Jesus kind of stuff I think worth meditating on as we look to His work on Friday. Blessings.