[who. not what]

I am learning that how we see God changes everything. That obedience is not necessarily knowing what you're supposed to do but knowing Who it is that has asked something of you.

Take a child for example. I obeyed my parents and grandparents much more willingly then I did any other authority figures. In some ways, I actually judged whether some authority even deserved it - obeying a teacher initially but if they turned out to be a push-over or lacked passion then I didn't really have a desire to obey and please them with my best.

I'm learning obedience to God is the same way. We get bogged down in all the things that we've been commanded to do as Christians, and then we pick and choose which ones we have the strength or desire to do, discard the rest and assume it's ok. Jesus calls us out on this very thing though - "Why do you call me, 'Lord Lord,' and do not do what I say?" [Luke 6:46] Why do you tell me you love me and then blatantly disobey me?

For me, the most obvious struggle right now is loving someone in my life who is just simply hard. I know tolerating them is not loving them. I know feeling obligated to reach out is not loving them. And I know I am called to love them. Yet I feel like my excuses and reasons trump God's commands. And I think that's the root of it.

Who is God to me that His commands seem more like suggestions? How do I see Him - a nice guy or my Savior? What does my relationship with Him look like? I learned this week He isn't interested in bargaining with people. Take a look at Pharoah in Exodus. I also learned this week that He acts with precision in every single thing He does. Check out the Egyptians' trust in their different idols that He shattered with each of the 10 plagues. Most importantly, I learned that above all else, God is about His glory, His worship, Himself. That in the end, this is what everything in life really amounts to.

Because truth is, our programs and churches and missions and outreachs aren't sacred. Our church sayings aren't sacred. Our theology isn't sacred. Our schools and seminaries aren't sacred. Our endless self-help books aren't sacred. Our Christian this and Christian that is. not. sacred. God's name is. God's character is. God's glory and story are. And this is what we, who profess to be Christians, carry with us into every decision we make and everything we do.

It shifts the focus don't you think? To realize we are to love people for God's sake, for His name. To understand we are to obey out of a love for God, not necessarily because we always have the desire to. To follow not the commands of the Lord but the Lord. That our obedience is rooted in our confidence of His character.

"Spiritual maturity is measured by how readily we respond to the person of God rather than the promises of God," wrote Andy Stanley in his book Visioneering. "It involves coming to the place where who is asking is more important than what we are being asked to do." Great book by the way. It has changed my perspective of many many things.

Who, though, not what. Who we are responding to. This is what God's commands are about. Not necessarily the act of obedience itself but the name and character of God that are on the line every time we are faced with a decision to obey Him or not. As our love for God increases our eagerness to please Him does as well, just like any relationship. And soon we begin to obey because we love Him. Not because the things He has called us to do always make sense or are easy.