The best reason to obey God

There are two reasons to obey someone, the first being because you fear them, the second being because you love them. Fear is a powerful motivator. If you don't obey this person or organisation, you will be punished, so you obey out of obligation. But love is much more powerful. So powerful that you can even comply with a request from someone "lower" than you.

God commands both types of obedience. Make no mistake, disobedience to God can have some disastrous consequences. It's never a good idea to mess with the sovereign Creator of the entire universe. But although He can make people obey out of fear (Numbers 12:1-10 is a good example), that's not the kind of obedience He desires. Rather than fear, love is the best reason to obey Jesus.

To my younger readers, I ask this: Why do you obey your parents? Many of you may obey out of fear, but for me personally, the answer is out of love. Although my mother does have some power over me, there's not a huge amount she can do to make me fear her (and because she loves me back, she isn't likely to do what little she can do). I can, should I desire, ignore many of her requests. But I don't want to. If she asks me to do something, she wants it done, so I want to do it to please her.

To my older readers I ask this: Which would you prefer? A child who obeys you because he fears you, or a child who obeys out of love? If the answer is the former, you're really asking for a slave. But if the latter, you have a glimpse of God's mindset. No parent wants a child who honors them with their lips, but hates them in their heart. That's every parent's worst fear. In the same way, God desires that you love Him first, and that love must manifest itself in obedience.