TODAY’S VERSE:  

Ecclesiastes 12:13 “Now all has been heard; here is the conclusion of the matter: Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the duty of all mankind.”

In prep school, we have started a new series on Jonah, a book in the Old Testament of the Bible. Jonah was a prophet. A prophet is a person whom God chose to tell others about His will. The book starts out with God giving Jonah a job to do-

Jonah 1:1-2 “The word of the Lord came to Jonah son of Amittai: ‘Go to the great city of Nineveh and preach against it, because its wickedness has come up before me.’”

So, Jonah’s Boss, God Almighty, commanded him to go to Nineveh. So, he went, right?

Jonah 1:3 “But Jonah rose up to flee to Tarshish from the presence of the Lord. So he went down to Joppa, found a ship, which was going to Tarshish, paid the fare, and went down into it to go with them to Tarshish from the presence of the Lord.”

Uh-oh. Jonah chose to disobey God. What happens when we disobey our parents? They discipline us, right? Well, God does too.

Jonah 1:4 “And the LORD hurled a great wind on the sea and there was a great storm on the sea so that the ship was about to break up.”

You may be asking, “Why is it so important to obey God?” Well, God knows everything, including what is best for you and those in your life. He wants to protect you, protect others, and accomplish His will. He is also the Boss of the world. So, when the perfect God, the Ultimate Authority, tells us to do something, we are to obey! On top of all that, God tells us that He blesses obedience and disciplines disobedience. The Bible has A LOT to say on this topic- here are a few verses:

Jeremiah 7:23 “But this command I gave them: ‘Obey my voice, and I will be your God, and you shall be my people. And walk in all the way that I command you, that it may be well with you.’”

Luke 11:28 “He replied, ‘Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and obey it.’”

John 14:15 “If you love me, you will keep my commandments.”

1 John 5:3 “For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments. And his commandments are not burdensome.”

By the way, God also commands us to obey our parents.

Colossians 3:20 “Children, obey your parents in everything, for this pleases the Lord.”

Like we said, God is perfect, wants what is best for His children, and is in charge. He is worthy of our trust, love, and respect. This trust, love, and respect should result in obedience. So, the choice is ours- we can obey and be blessed or disobey and be disciplined. Hmmmm… the correct choice seems obvious, right?!