Mommy Lesson 26 - Love and Obedience

When I was a little girl there was a song on my favorite album The Music Machine called Love. Part of the lyrics say, "Love makes people do the things they know they ought to do. Love is doing things for you and me" I was thinking about that song this week. When I need the kids to be obedient even though they would rather do something different, I still expect obedience. But I want them to obey out of love not out of fear of getting in trouble.

When you look at the heroes in the Bible, you see great obedience. What I notice is that all of them obey out of their love for God and their knowledge of how much God loves them more than out of fear. Sure they all knew that God is great and can send lightening bolts out of the sky or cause a whale to swallow you, but it is evident that they obeyed out of love. That's what I pray for my kids, that they are obedient out of love not out of fear.

I know that the more I cultivate that relationship with them and strengthen those bonds the more chances I have that they will be obedient out of love. I'm not saying they will be perfect or always be obedient and make the wise choices but I do believe that they will more likely make the smart choices because that is a way to show love.