Obedience

God asks for my obedience so that instead of hassling me to get my attention (as I do with my children on the bad mornings) He can focus on enjoying my company (as I do with my children on the good mornings).

Trinity (Mosaic Tile Trinity Dome)

On the mornings when my children are obedient, we have such a lovely time together.

The one time that I can truly enjoy being a mother is when my children are able to listen to what I need to tell them and action the things that I ask them to action.  This is not because I am a tyrant or particularly like telling people what to do – thought my children may tell you that this is indeed the case.  This is because I spend a very significant part of my life thinking about what is best of my children and how I can help them to achieve the best possible outcome in a whole series of circumstances.  This means that when I have figured out how to best position something so that my children can receive the most benefit from it, then I wish to help them to move into that situation so that they can benefit best.

For example, when my children were very young I would ask them to be obedient to my instructions when we were out of the house.  For example, if we were walking on the street, I would ask them to hold my hand and walk next to me.  Sometimes they would not like to do this.  They would prefer to run off ahead.  However, I would ask for their obedience so that they would not be run over by a car – by running ahead on to the road – or taken by a stranger in the crowd, if I were not able to get a hold of them in time, or even so that they would not be lost and become afraid.

All of these reasons were very specific reasons and sometimes, the situation would change at a moment’s notice.  For example, a child who had started by being safe in one area needed to be moved quickly to another area and I needed their obedience to do it.

The same applies to my children now.  Sometimes they will wish to do something and it is not the best thing for them to be doing.  Sometimes the best thing for them to be doing is the opposite of what they want.  For example, one of my sons would like to play on computer games constantly.  This is not the best thing for him or in his best interests.  Instead, it would be better if he came off the games and did other things, like exercise and study and social interaction…

This is like our Faith…  God knows what is best for us to keep us safe in an ETERNAL sense.  Sometimes, we cannot see what that is or how that could be because we are distracted by things that we would rather do – like play computer games – but the reality is that God can see the strangers on the street and the cars on the road and the possibility of my being lost.  And He knows how to prevent those things from happening.  And so He asks for my obedience in this so that instead of hassling me to get my attention (as I do with my children on the bad mornings) He can focus on enjoying my company (as I do with my children on the good mornings).

And it seems to me today that if I have spent half as much time disobeying my God as my children have spent disobeying me, then I really am a terrible terrible child of God and my only hope is in His Mercy.  For without that I am lost – totally lost!

For with prayer, I stand on Holy Ground where everything is clear. Here. At the Foot of the Cross.