But Peter and the other apostles answered and said: “We ought to obey God rather than men.
Act 5:29 NKJV
Why do we obey God? We obey God because we know Him to be our maker, provider, protector, savior. We obey Him because He owns us and we owe Him everything. We ought to because we owe Him. We have to pay what we owe. But we cannot pay what we owe God. The whole of us is not enough, ourselves is His. We ought to obey God because He loves us. His love for us is eternal. Loving God is obeying His will. Love begets love. He first loved us and that is why we love Him in return. Supreme love is His kind of love. It is AGAPE love. He gave His life for us and we ought to give our life for Him and for the brethren. How should we obey God? Obey God because He is God. He is the Lawgiver, He is our Father God. If we say He is our God and our Father, we should and we must honor Him with our faithful obedience to His will. It is our duty to obey. Obedience is intentional and not accidental. It is continuing and not occasional. Obedience is full and not partial. It is our lifetime of duty.
We ought to obey God in the face of troubles, opposition and persecutions. It is true obedience based on faith. Faith comes from hearing and knowing the truth. So this principle of full and faithful obedience is based on truth. It is different from fanaticism, which sprouts from lack of knowledge of the truth. Obedience based on ignorance is not obedience at all. It is not acceptable to God. What is acceptable to God is obedience by faith in Him. We should obey His laws however hard they may seem. If you follow Him, you will find it to be beneficial and pleasurable to you and to God whom we serve.
