Fellowship United Methodist Church

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Obedience

Remember not the sins of my youth and my rebellious ways; according to your love remember me, for you are good, O LORD. Psalm 25:7

              We have two dogs and two cats. Now the cats are not a problem most of the time…they come and go as they please and can take care of most of their needs, including food. The dogs, on the other hand, can be a different story especially when it comes to obedience. Rex is a Golden Lab, a sweet, protective animal weighing about 75 lbs. who thinks he is small like Coal our Pomeranian (14 lbs). when Rex jumps up to be petted, I almost hit the ground, even though I am commanding him to not jump. Coal likes to visit our neighbor next door and our property is separated by a wooded area. He will start across the woods, I will tell me to stay, and he just looks at me then continues on his way (sometimes he will turn around and come back). As you can see, they don’t always listen and obey; they don’t always stay home; but I still love them and wouldn’t want anything to happen to them.
                As I write about my pets and my relationship with them, I think about our relationship to God.   I can see some similarities in the way in which we response to God. First, we don’t always listen and do what God asks us to do…we fail to be obedient children. We have a little stubborn streak (like Coal,) and we believe that we know what is best. Unfortunately, we may find ourselves in a mess due to our wrong choices. Secondly (like the cats), some of us come and go, as we please when it comes to God. That is, if we have time in our busy schedule, we will pray, study the scriptures, and attend worship services. When we have good times, we forget about God; but when the challenges come, we suddenly remember God. Like the cats we try to be self-sufficient, or so we think, and try to take care of ourselves without any help. Lastly, like Rex, we don’t exactly see ourselves as to who we are in relation to God. Yet, God continues to love us and see to our needs.
                Can you find yourself anywhere in the above scenario? How do you respond to God? Each of us is in different places in our spiritual journey and our relationship with God. The beauty of Lent is that it lets us examine who we are in relationship to God. Lent helps us to see where we need to make changes and helps us to grow stronger in our walk with God. Thankfully, God doesn’t give up on us and continues to love us in spite of our actions.
Prayer: Gracious God, Thank you for not giving up on me and for continuing to mold me into the person you desire me to be. Help me to be a better listener, and then be obedient to what you ask me to do. Amen