Obedience: Calvary Hong KongSample

PARTIAL OBEDIENCE

When you have to respond to God’s call, how do you respond? In normal circumstance, either we respond yes or no! However, it is also possible to have a response which is fuzzy. It can be compared to pick and choose what we like and indirectly replacing our plan for God's plan as if we are obedient.

That is how Saul responded when God spoke to him through Samuel to destroy the Amalekites completely (1 Samuel 15). Instead of complete obedience to God’s word, Saul spared the King Agag and the best of sheep and cattle, the fat calves and lamps – everything that was good. In Saul’s eyes, saving a few animals to sacrifice to the Lord seemed like a better idea than God's.

In God’s eyes, partial obedience is disobedience and God grieved over the decision to make Saul the King of Israel for not obeying His word completely. Saul probably did 99 percent of what he was told to do. Yet God called his partial obedience — rebellion (1 Sam. 15:23)!

Do we fully obey the commands of our Lord or try to replace His plan with our plan?