"Shepherd the flock of God among you, exercising oversight not under compulsion, but willingly, according to the will of God; and not for sordid gain, but with eagerness"
~1 Peter 5:2
"Not under compulsion, but willingly". The Holy Spirit has been bringing up that short phrase again and again. It doesn't just have to do with giving, or praying, or even shepherding. Our Heavenly Father wants our every act to be done, not under compulsion, but willingly.
When we do anything for God, we're giving Him something. Our time, talent, attention--whatever it is, it's a gift to Him. We choose to sacrifice our own plans and commit to His.
"With a freewill offering I will sacrifice to you; I will give thanks to your name, Yahweh, for it is good." ~Psalm 54:6
It's our free will offering that Yahweh wants. Remember that the natural came first, and then the spiritual (1 Cor. 15:46). He wants us to willingly offer up ourselves and all the gifts He's given us. And He wants us to do so thankfully!
"When you sacrifice a thank offering to the LORD, sacrifice it in such a way that it will be accepted on your behalf."
~Leviticus 22:29
It's not enough to just go through the motions in our service to God. We need to be willing, and thankful. We can present to Him our acceptable sacrifice (Romans 12:1). Once we have aligned ourselves with the knowledge of Messiah and His sacrifice, then we can gratefully present ours. Our life can be full of choices where we happily choose our Father's perfect will.
No comments:
Post a Comment