I tell my children all the time to obey the first time. Why do I want them to obey the first time? Well, because I'm their mother and I said so:)... but hopefully they've also seen in ME reasons why they would want to obey. They obey because they trust me. My children know that I have their best interest at heart. They know that I'm older than them and that I know a little bit more than they do (most of the time). Also, I want my children to say “Please” and “Thank you” and “Yes, ma’am" and “No, ma’am" (I'm from the South; we have to say ma'am). I want them to show respect not only for me but for all authority. There are grownups in their lives other than their dad and I, and my children should show respect.
More than respect for me, I want their obedience to stem from my love for them and their love for me. They don't always obey (shocking I know) and there are consequences when they don’t, but I don't stop loving them because of their disobedience. My love for them grows deeper and their love for me grows deeper as our relationship grows deeper. There are rules that need to be followed, but I want my children to know me as their mom and not as their task master.
God is not our taskmaster, He is our Father. He desires a relationship with us. We are His children and He is our creator. It would break my heart if my own child did not want to have a relationship with me or if they followed all the rules and were "good" but had no relationship with me. A relationship with someone means that we spend time with them. We don't just know of them but we KNOW them. We know their likes and dislikes. We know their voice. We want to spend time with them and learn more about them. Psalm 1 says that those who obey God's word are "like trees planted along the riverbank, bearing fruit in each season.”
We are God's imago dei, made in His image. We are His children and He wants what is best for us. Our obedience and the choices we make spring from our reliance on God and His word. It's not always what we want BUT it is why we are taught to obey, to trust, and to love the One who made us.
"But they delight in the law of the Lord meditating on it day and night" Psalm 1:3
"But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things." Galatians 5:22
“Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like someone who looks at his face in a mirror and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. But whoever looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues in it—not forgetting what they have heard, but doing it—they will be blessed in what they do.” James 1:23-25 (NIV)
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