Obey before you Play

       His tiny hand had to reach up to touch the door knob. I'd told him that he could play on the front porch after he picked his lincoln logs up off the floor. He stood with his hand on the doorknob glancing up into the kitchen at me. What a strange puzzled look on his three year old face.

      From where I stood doing the dishes I couldn't see that he hadn't obeyed. Finally, I realized his dilemma. He was counting on Mother to tell him, “Obey before you play.” He felt jared and insecure because he couldn't trust me to correct him, and put boundaries around him.

     When I saw the lincoln logs on the floor I told him that he could not go out until he picked them up. His face showed relief and almost joy as he bounced toward them.

     The world tell us there is no right or wrong. There is no standard to live by. No conscience. As I thought about my son I realized that I, too, felt great joy and relief to know that God gave me rules. It was wonderful to know that I could trust God. What he said is what he meant.
     If I lived a certain way I would have the fruits of the spirit...love, joy, peace. I could count on God to protect me and hedge me in by his rules. I could also trust him that he would give me the desires of my heart. He was consistent in all his ways. His word was a true as the law of gravity.
     Oh, how I love a God who means what he says. It made me smile to realize as His child I was also expected to, “Obey before I play.”