Okay, what’s the deal? Does Jesus want my obedience, or does He want my heart? Which is it? Am I supposed to work really hard on trying to do the right thing, or do I simply trust in His grace and throw my behavior to the wind, because it’s simply not important? This feels like a weird thing to ask, but the Bible seems to want it both ways sometimes. I mean, we obviously need grace. We are too screwed up to earn anything. At the same time, Jesus does want us to follow Him. He wants us to put His teachings into practice and to make Him our King with our obedience. All of the Apostles actually started calling themselves, “The slaves of Christ.” One time, Jesus said that if you had a servant, you would expect him to do his duty. He feels that way about us. Why? Is Jesus some kind of egotistical dictator who just wants everyone bowing before Him? No. Jesus isn’t like that. He bore our sins to give us new life for free. He served us by dying for us. It just so happens that serving Him is the thing that will make us happier than anything else because He is so full of life and love. Obeying Jesus is the ticket to freedom and joy. It’s like my marriage. You see, I don’t cheat on my wife. I obey the rules of fidelity, but not because they’re the rules. I don’t cheat because I love my wife and a life of fidelity with her makes me happier than anything else ever could. Jesus wants your obedience, but it’s only because He knows what will make you most happy and fulfilled.
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