Better than sacrifice...
And out of the ground the Lord God made every tree to grow that is pleasant to the sight and good for food. The tree of life was also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. -Gen 2:9-
Reading this passage this morning, I was struck with a question - if God did not want Adam and Eve to know the knowledge of good and evil, then why did He place the tree there? Why was it even an option for them to disobey Him? It would have made the world a much nicer place if "good" and "evil" had never been discovered, and everyone just walked around as nice little beings who didn't even know there was a choice other than "nice".
Yet...if there had been no choice...if there was no option to know anything less than pure goodness...then human beings would have been mere puppets on a string, bound to love and trust the Lord simply out of our helpless ignorance. And what value is there in obedience, love and trust when the obey-er, lover, or trust-er does not know he had a choice not to obey, love and trust? It would be like having a child who was programmed internally to obey, love and trust their parents, but they never made the conscious choice to do so. There is no mutual sacrifice there. There is no relationship there.
More and more the Lord is showing me what a relational God He is. He has always been this way. Our God has never been interested in blind, blissfully ignorant followers who move when He pushes the right buttons, like characters in a video game. He wants responders - lovers who hear His voice, feel His fire, and choose Him - every day - above all other options.
To obey is better than sacrifice... (1 Sam 15:22) is beginning to make more sense to me. It is repeated in the New Testament, and resounds the message that the Lord is much less interested in religious obedience that He is in invading the deep places of our hearts. The truth is, obedience is sacrifice - but it is sacrifice of a heavier kind. It is the laying down of our will, and letting go of the option to have our own way. It is saying, "Yes, Lord!", every time He asks. It is turning a deaf ear to the voice of the enemy, and choosing to invite and hear the voice of God. Voluntary, passionate obedience that is a response to His voluntary, passionate love is what He wants - so much more than rote traditions and programmed, heartless offerings.
Psalm 51:16&17 says, You do not delight in sacrifice, or I would bring it; You do not take pleasure in burnt offerings. My sacrifice, O God, is a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart you, God, will not despise. David knew the heart of the matter - that the Lord was after his heart. The people of God have obviously wrestled with this truth for thousands of years - and through it all the Lord has continually told us - you have a choice, and I want you to choose Me, so I can dwell with you and have intimate fellowship with you.
I believe what began in the Garden with a choice between obedience and disobedience continues today. The Lord has made us thinkers, with the ability to choose to obey or disobey, love or not love, trust or not trust. He is not interested in a brainwashed mass that follows out of habit. He wants my heart - the very core of it...so He will not choose for me. But the glory of it all is this - that when make that choice - to obey and love Him - our choice is returned with a love so unfathomably more fierce, more loyal, more passionate...and it has been there all along (Jn 4:19).
Reading this passage this morning, I was struck with a question - if God did not want Adam and Eve to know the knowledge of good and evil, then why did He place the tree there? Why was it even an option for them to disobey Him? It would have made the world a much nicer place if "good" and "evil" had never been discovered, and everyone just walked around as nice little beings who didn't even know there was a choice other than "nice".
Yet...if there had been no choice...if there was no option to know anything less than pure goodness...then human beings would have been mere puppets on a string, bound to love and trust the Lord simply out of our helpless ignorance. And what value is there in obedience, love and trust when the obey-er, lover, or trust-er does not know he had a choice not to obey, love and trust? It would be like having a child who was programmed internally to obey, love and trust their parents, but they never made the conscious choice to do so. There is no mutual sacrifice there. There is no relationship there.
More and more the Lord is showing me what a relational God He is. He has always been this way. Our God has never been interested in blind, blissfully ignorant followers who move when He pushes the right buttons, like characters in a video game. He wants responders - lovers who hear His voice, feel His fire, and choose Him - every day - above all other options.
To obey is better than sacrifice... (1 Sam 15:22) is beginning to make more sense to me. It is repeated in the New Testament, and resounds the message that the Lord is much less interested in religious obedience that He is in invading the deep places of our hearts. The truth is, obedience is sacrifice - but it is sacrifice of a heavier kind. It is the laying down of our will, and letting go of the option to have our own way. It is saying, "Yes, Lord!", every time He asks. It is turning a deaf ear to the voice of the enemy, and choosing to invite and hear the voice of God. Voluntary, passionate obedience that is a response to His voluntary, passionate love is what He wants - so much more than rote traditions and programmed, heartless offerings.
Psalm 51:16&17 says, You do not delight in sacrifice, or I would bring it; You do not take pleasure in burnt offerings. My sacrifice, O God, is a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart you, God, will not despise. David knew the heart of the matter - that the Lord was after his heart. The people of God have obviously wrestled with this truth for thousands of years - and through it all the Lord has continually told us - you have a choice, and I want you to choose Me, so I can dwell with you and have intimate fellowship with you.
I believe what began in the Garden with a choice between obedience and disobedience continues today. The Lord has made us thinkers, with the ability to choose to obey or disobey, love or not love, trust or not trust. He is not interested in a brainwashed mass that follows out of habit. He wants my heart - the very core of it...so He will not choose for me. But the glory of it all is this - that when make that choice - to obey and love Him - our choice is returned with a love so unfathomably more fierce, more loyal, more passionate...and it has been there all along (Jn 4:19).
To love Him with all your heart, with all your understanding and with all your strength, and to love your neighbor as yourself is more important than all burnt offerings and sacrifices.
-Mark 12:23-
-HK
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