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Whether you're going to bake a cake or build a skyscraper, your
success will depend on your ability to follow instructions. You
wouldn't expect a cake to be delicious if you used the wrong
ingredients. And you should not attempt to construct a tall building
without an adequate foundation and sturdy materials. So why do we
think we can throw away God's directions for life and still find
fulfillment? Too often we think we know better than God what we
should do.
Solomon got carried away with feelings of his own
importance and the greatness of his own wisdom. He forgot that God
was far smarter than he was or ever could be. He deluded himself into
thinking that the pleasures of earthly life were much better than the
joys of living for God. He fell into the trap of making short-term
investments and ignoring the eternal.
But Solomon learned from his mistakes. He said
at the conclusion of Ecclesiastes that the key to finding meaning in
life is to "fear God and keep His commandments" (12:13).
What does it mean to keep His commandments? To
keep God's commandments means that we obey whatever God asks us to
do. For Old Testament believers like Solomon, that included the Ten
Commandments as well as the hundreds of other laws concerning
private, social, and religious life. For us today, to keep God's
commandments means that we obey the timeless principles of the Old
Testament as well as the New Testament principles for life under the
new covenant of grace (Heb. 8).
Jesus told His disciples, "If you love
Me, keep My commandments" (John 14:15). Also, in 1 John we are
told, "For this is the love of God, that we keep His
commandments. And His commandments are not burdensome" (5:3). In
John 15:9-11, Jesus said that those believers who obey His commands
will experience great joy.
What are the most important commands? Every
word of instruction from God is something we should do, but some
commands are more basic and all-encompassing than others. For
example, to begin to please God, a person must become one of His
children. All who turn to God, acknowledge their own disobedience
before Him (Rom. 3:23), recognize that Christ died for them (John 3:
16), and personally accept God's free gift (Rom. 6:23) will be taking
the first essential step of obedience to God. When some people asked
Jesus what they should do to please God, Christ said, "This is
the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He sent" (John
6:29).
Two other commands are cited by Jesus as being
the most important. Jesus summed up the Law and the Prophets by saying
that we are to love God and we are to love people (Matt. 22:36-40).
What happens if we don't obey? To try to find
fulfillment while disobeying God is like trying to start a fire with
water. It just won't work. You can't swallow a deadly dose of cyanide
and expect to survive. You can't plunge your bare hand into boiling
water without getting scalded. And you can't disobey God without
serious consequences.
In the last verse of Ecclesiastes, Solomon
pointed out our accountability to the Lord. He said, "For God
will bring every work into judgment, including every secret thing,
whether it is good or whether it is evil" (12:14). No one will
ever get away with any disobedience (3:17; 8:12,13; 11:9).
The person who never takes the initial step of
obedience and puts his trust in Christ will face God unforgiven and
condemned (Rev. 20:7-15). The believer in Christ will stand before
God and give account for his life and be rewarded accordingly (1 Cor.
3:10-15; 2 Cor. 5:10).
How can our obedience help a searching world
find purpose in life? In the apostle Paul's letter to the Philippians
are several clues as to how we can show the world that true
fulfillment comes through knowing and obeying God. When we are able
to say, "For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain"
(1:21) we will be showing the world what is worth living and dying
for. When we are united with other believers we will show God's
enemies that their purposes will not prevail (1:28). When we look out
for the interests of others (2:4), we will demonstrate what it means
to live a selfless, Christlike life. When we live blamelessly, we
will shine like stars in the middle of a dark world (2:15). When we
live for heavenly purposes, we will contrast those who are controlled
by their fleshly desires (3:17-21). When we are content whether rich
or poor (4:11-13), we will show that we are not looking for
significance in material possessions but in our spiritual
relationship with God.
Thinking It Over. Why do children disobey
their parents? Why do adults break the law? Why did the men and women
of faith mentioned in Hebrews 11 choose to obey God? When do you
struggle with obedience to God? When does it seem irrational to obey
Him? Ask God to show you areas in your life that need to be placed
under His lordship.
Curtis
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