Obedience is better than sacrifice

But we should have learned by now that just doing the minimum is not sufficient. Just getting by does not make it. Instead, by being fully obedient to God, doing what he tells us and when he tells us, that is how we find favor with God. That is how we honor God and keep His commandments. It is not enough to just sacrifice, because after Jesus, what sacrifice can we make to please God. The ultimate sacrifice has already been made. There is nothing that we can do which can equal or surpass that sacrifice. Therefore, it is better to obey. Indeed, obedience is better than sacrifice. It's not an easy lesson to learn. It's take thousands of years to even get to the point where we can see the benefits of such obedience. But we see the fruits of it.

Paul, who was by no means a saint, was nevertheless obedient to the word of God. And through his obedience he was called on to make a sacrifice. And while Paul is the most notable example of this, there were many other people through the course of the struggle whose obedience led to sacrifice. But in each case, in the case of those nameless souls who were obedient to the word of God in their cause, their sacrifice was as a result of obedience.

So in actuality, it is really okay to be willing to sacrifice. It's okay to take stock of your life and sacrifice for what you believe in and what you think is right and just. But don't think that it ends there. For the true test of a Christian is to be obedient to the one who gave you life, the one who gave you breath, to the one who woke you in the morning and the one who puts you to sleep at night. To be obedient to the one who knows what the level of your commitment is, who knows how to make things right and how to correct the wrong. To be obedient when you are working in His vineyard and for His kingdom. To know that when the Lord tells you to give of your time, your talent, and your possessions, that is not just so you will have to make a sacrifice. By giving of those things, and being obedient, your spirit will grow, your walk with God comes closer because you are submitting to the ultimate power and the ultimate authority, that you acknowledge your creator in all your ways and that you do everything for the glory and honor of God.

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