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Ephesians 5: 8, 10 (NIV)
Live as children of light . . .
and find out what pleases the Lord.
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| You can know the law by heart without knowing the heart of it.* |
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I find security in rules. Procedure manuals can cure my anxiety. I like to know, step-by-step, what is expected of me. For people like me, a sincere desire to find out what pleases the Lord can lead us into the bondage of legalism. But we are saved by God’s grace, not by anything that we do - which does not give us license for an “anything goes” lifestyle. There are rules for living the Christian life - but we don’t live according to rules. We live according to what pleases God.
Am I talking in circles?
Imagine being married to someone who claims he doesn’t know what you want. Just tell me what you want me to do and I’ll do it. Now picture yourself telling him, step-by-step, what will make you happy. Do you think that his adherence to your list of rules will solve your problems? I am reminded of the trailer for a movie that shows a couple sitting on a couch, as far apart from each other as possible, body language screaming, “I’m right! You’re wrong!” The woman says, “I want you to want to do the dishes.” The man replies - disdainfully, “Why would I want to do the dishes?” Does anyone read her subtext? “I want you to want to make me happy.”
How can we make God happy without being slaves to rules and regulations? By knowing his heart and by having a heart that wants to please him. A heart that is tuned in to God does not obey him out of fear of displeasing him but out of a desire to show him that we love and honor him. No one wants to do the dishes – but perhaps we should want to want to do them!
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| I began trusting God instead of trying so hard to please him.* |
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