Obedience Does It Look The Same?

I don't believe obedience looks the same for all people!

Take raising our children....

...when you ask your teenager to come home by midnight does that mean your 6th grader does the same? They each have a time when they need to be home to get rest, but it isn't fulfilled the same way. As a parent I can see what my children need and I can promise it won't be the same!

Why as adults do we think we must all look the same in God's eyes?

Did God call us all to be missionaries? YES
But He does not ask us all to serve in the same location?
Just because we don't live in poverity in another region doesn't mean we are not missionaries!
We are in this world, but as a christian, THIS is not our home, we are missionaries where ever we are...at home, shopping for groceries, waitng in the school line to pick up kids, on the ball field...YOU are a missionary!

Did God call us all to be wise with our money? YES
But He doesn't give us the same amount to manage.
Whether I make $25,000, $250,000, or $500,000 I am asked to manage my money wisely.
What someone with $25,000 can do and what someone with $500,000 can do will be dramatically different! It doesn't mean I am less obedient because I have very little to give or make me incredibily intelligent because I may have been given more to manage!

Did God call us to love children? YES
But He doesn't give us the same number of children.
Because I can't have any does that make me less able to love children?
Because I only had 2 children does that mean I am not a great mom?
Because I have 8 children does that make me a super mom?
God didn't set out with an exact number that we all must have. I am no more a super woman than a woman with no children. We are both asked to love our Lord and serve Him well. And that means joy in whatever location I am in. Without Joy what good am I?

We can't understand His ways and we try to figure out why He does what He does.

I am seeing this only brings anger, frustration and disappointment. When my children try to figure out why we ask one to do something and not the other they live in frustration and anger. They question us constantly...why doesn't he have too. They base their happiness on their own view point and they blame us for their failures. And they demand for everything to be equal. Life is not equal! And if they live looking for that they are going to be very unhappy/joyless adults.

They want the answers that we can't give them. We can't explain what we see that they need to work on because then it becomes..."you like them more", "you don't trust me", "you only see the worst in me". They can't comprehend our love for them IS the SAME! We actually see their potential, not their failures. And we are more about teaching them to find JOY in all circumstances than making life FEEL fair to them.

Just try talking to a teen you need to direct. You start the conversation off right but before long it takes a nose dive! They get focused on 'self' and they can't see beyond that moment in time. I think that is just like us with our walk with the Lord. We begin to question what God is doing and we lose focus on Him and direct it 'self'.

We lose our joy, our direction, and our purpose.

What is it that God is asking of you?
Now, go do it immediately with a happy heart!

Are you busy looking at others and thinking your heavenly Father wants you doing the exact same thing as others? Do you think He loves you less because of the circumstances He has allowed to come your way?

Our purpose is to Glorify Him! It isn't the money we have, the number of children we can bare, or the location in which we serve.

Obedience doesn't look the same from person to person.
Obedience should look the exact same with immediate action and a joyful heart!