Doing God’s Will Is Important
The desire for cars, houses, and material things consumes many people. Entrapped
and entrenched by our desires, we see doing God’s will as relatively unimportant. Why should we be
concerned about God’s will?
First, God’s will is important. Sometimes even the apostle Peter questioned its value.
On one occasion, Peter asked Jesus if doing God’s will was worth giving up such things as family, home, and career.
“What then shall we have (Matt. 19:27)?” The Lord’s answer was direct, practical,
and powerful. “And every one that hath left houses, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother,
or children, or lands, for my name's sake, shall receive a hundredfold, and shall inherit eternal life (Matt 19:29).”
God will richly reward them that do His will and follow His son.
Second,
God’s blessings to those who obey His will are many and wonderful. There is the great joy of knowing
that God forgives our sins (Mark 16:15-16; Acts 2:38; 8:36-39). The doer of God’s will enjoys the
fellowship with God and with His people (1 John 1:7). The Christian heritage includes the peace of mind
which comes from knowing that our sins are forgiven, from having a good conscience, and from living daily in God’s favor
and under His care (Matt. 5:1-12; Phil. 4:6-7; 1 Peter3:21). God’s greatest blessing is eternal life
to those who obey His will (Titus 1:2; Heb. 11:9-10).
Third, God tells us clearly in the
Bible what we must do to obey His will. We must love God supremely (Mark 12:28-31), place God first (Luke
14:26-33), and obey God’s will (Matt. 7:21; Heb. 5:8-9). In order to obey His will, we must begin
with His instructions to believe (John 8:24), repent (Acts 16:30-31), confess (Matt. 10:32-33), be baptized for the remission
of sins (Acts 2:38; 22:16), and faithfully live the Christian life (Titus 2:11-14).
Fourth, God adds those who do His will to the church day by day. These are the saved (Acts 2:47). The church is God’s
family (1 Tim. 3:15). God also translates the saved into the kingdom of the son of His love (Col. 1:12).
God grants his blessing to us in the church, the family, the Kingdom.
Finally,
God expects that we act urgently in obeying His will. “Behold, now is the acceptable time; behold, now is the day of
salvation (2 Cor. 6:2).” “How shall we escape, if we neglect so great a salvation (Heb. 2:3)?”
