Obedience

I have an 8 month old puppy, who is not yet always obedient. Recently, he has begun to run out the front door when I open it to come in or go out. At first, he would just take off - away he would go down the street to see what excitement he may be missing. He would get scolded, which of course he hated. He started to do better; he would run out the door and stop when called, but then off he would go. I guess he decided that the fun of exploration was greater than the disapproval from Mom. Today he ran out, stopped and then ran back in when I called his name. I still saw that moment of hesitation; he almost ran but made the decision to be obedient. He was rewarded with my approval, which he loves.

We are the same way with God sometimes. We know that we are doing something that displeases God, but we do it anyway. We want to be obedient, we may even hesitate, but in the end we allow our sinful nature take control. Obedience is not always easy to do and some times we need many scoldings from God before we learn, but how sweet it is when we respond correctly to God in obedience and know that he is pleased.