New Morning Mercies #221

For the believer, obedience is not a pain but a joy. Each act of obedience celebrates the grace that motivates and empowers it.

I remember my brother Tedd saying it to me, but I didn’t realize how right he was: “Obedience is its own reward.” It is hard to overestimate the grace that motivates each act of obedience in your life and in mine:

• Sinners tend not to esteem authority.
• Sinners like to write their own rules.
• Sinners are good at convincing themselves that their wrongs are not that wrong.
• Sinners tend to believe in their own autonomy.
• Sinners tend to think they’re wiser than they are.
• Sinners tend to have a moral code that is formed more by their desires than by God’s law.
• Sinners tend to think that they don’t need what they don’t desire.
• Sinners tend to be self-focused and self-excusing.
• Sinners tend to crave what God has prohibited.
• Sinners tend to opt for short-term pleasure over long-term gain.
• Sinners tend to rebel rather than submit.

Because all of the above statements are true, it is a miracle of amazing grace that any of us ever chooses to obey God. It is even more a miracle that we can find joy in obeying someone whom we cannot see, hear, or touch. It is a wonder of transforming grace that the heart of a self-focused human being can abandon the pursuit of his own little kingdom and give itself to serve the purposes of the kingdom of another. Any time we desire, in word, thought, or action, to do what pleases God, we are being rescued, transformed, and empowered by his grace. You see, your obedience celebrates grace even in moments when you aren’t consciously celebrating it yourself. Each moment of submission to the will of God celebrates this reality: “For sin will have no dominion over you, since you are not under law but under grace” (Rom. 6:14).

So smile when you obey; you are experiencing the riches of grace. Give thanks when you submit; you are being rescued by grace. Celebrate when you make the right choice; you are being transformed by grace. Sing for joy when you serve God’s purposes; you have just given evidence of the presence of redeeming grace!

For further study and encouragement: 1 Corinthians 6:1–11