Belonging to God (reprise IV)

When I think of belonging to God I think of my obligation to obey Him. This is essentially a corollary of His absolute ownership: after observing God’s unbounded prerogative I must consider my response. And there is no better word for the proper response than ‘obedience’. But fashion would have me use other words, other more pragmatic, flaccid, selfish words; perhaps something like ‘It would be in my best interest to do what God wants.’ While this may seem to have something going for it, it misses the point spectacularly in terms of my duty as God’s servant. And indeed all things are by right and by design God’s servants, even if they are runaways. I am His vassal — and even if He wishes to adopt me into His family I do not relinquish subjection, I inherit love.

Obedient service to Him is just the plain order of things. If God’s right of ownership of me is complete and boundless, then the only reasonable conclusion is that I must submit my entire life to be at His disposal for His purposes. It is not like my job, where I tap away at a computer for 8 hours every weekday for the benefit of the firm, but then have 16 hours remaining to pursue my own benefit quite apart from the firm. No. God is to get 24 hours of my every single day. In this regard matters are much more like the dealings I have with my car. I never give my tan sedan the weekend off to go gallivanting out on its own holiday, but I may (and often do) command it to sit quietly in some lonely parking place waiting for my beck and call. It is at my disposal every moment.

Of course there is a complication here: I have my own personal will but my tan sedan (to my knowledge) never desires to go out riding on its own holiday. Someone might say this breaks the analogy, but I think it rather allows us to see something deeper, and still retain the analogy (for whatever it is worth). In the case of my car, any desires that I might imagine that it could have to go on its own vacation would be independent of my wishes and commands. However, things are not the same with God and me: being in Christ and indwelt by the Holy Spirit, a believer may have many personal desires that are in perfect harmony with God’s commands and will. In fact, God can communicate His will through the believer’s will (see Paul’s letter to the Philippians, chapter 2, verse 13). It is a wondrous thing that my personal longings and aspirations can bear fruit at the same time that I offer all my heart, soul, mind, and strength to obeying Him, that these two can, in fact, be the same thing. So there is not necessarily a conflict between my desires and obedience to God.

Now, I did say necessarily. This is because, as I know all too well, many of my desires run at cross purposes with God’s command. But thanks be to God, He sends me a Savior, and Apostles and prophets (through the Scriptures), and teachers (often long dead), and brothers, and sometimes even enemies, to tell me which desires are of that dark sort. And yet still my obedience to our heavenly Father falls so far short of what He is due. But praise His name, I have a Savior who takes up the towel, pours sweet pure water into the basin, and washes my foul feet. He forgives me over and over and over and over again. May His grace and power deliver us from the selfishness defiance that flouts His command and the pride that blinds us to our disobedience. May we be ever more obedient children.