Thursday, March 12, 2026


Jeremiah 7:21-28
… But this command I gave them, ‘Obey my voice, and I will be your God, and you shall be my people; and walk only in the way that I command you, so that it may be well with you.’ Yet they did not obey or incline their ear, but, in the stubbornness of their evil will, they walked in their own counsels, and looked backwards rather than forwards. From the day that your ancestors came out of the land of Egypt until this day, I have persistently sent all my servants the prophets to them, day after day; yet they did not listen to me, or pay attention, but they stiffened their necks. They did worse than their ancestors did…

Psalm 95:1-9
... O come, let us worship and bow down, let us kneel before the Lord, our Maker!
For he is our God, and we are the people of his pasture, and the sheep of his hand. O that today you would listen to his voice! Do not harden your hearts, as at Meribah, as on the day at Massah in the wilderness, when your ancestors tested me, and put me to the proof, though they had seen my work.

Luke 11:14-23
…Whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters.


Today’s readings have a focus on obedience. This is not the easiest topic for a species that values free will. Especially when coupled with a perceived belief of intelligence and enlightenment.
 
'Walk only in the way that I command you." Surely not all commands. There are a few in the Old Testament, particularly in Deuteronomy, that I would feel quite compelled to ignore.
 
And yet how do we balance such selective obedience with faith?  Who are we to determine “Yup, these commands are legitimate and in line with my beliefs” or “Nope, that command is of a different era and we now know better”?
 
Perhaps our resistance to the idea of obedience isn’t solely grounded in arrogance. Is it not God who gave us discernment to distinguish truth from lie, good from evil?  Should we not be open to the holy spirit to guide us through what we think is right and wrong? Perhaps it is less obedience that we fear than blind devotion. And with faith and an open heart and mind, our devotion surely is not blind. 
 
Free will and obedience need not be in conflict. And while the argument is circular, the reason must be faith.
 
Faith to believe that God will not command us to act contrary to what, if we are really honest and indeed enlightened, know to be right. It might not be what is convenient or desirable, it might not be what we want, but if we use our God given power of discernment, it surely is what we know to be right and just.
 
In Luke 11:23 Jesus states "Whoever is not with me is against me." This might sound harsh and absolute, but go back a few verses to Luke 9:50 and Jesus states "for whoever is not against you is for you." This earlier passage seems to grant a bit more latitude. Our faith need not follow the same path and further, Jesus provided an open invitation to those of different faiths.
 
We can all as individuals go our separate ways.
 
We do have free will and it will manifest itself differently in all of us. And yet, within our faith, we invite the holy spirit to guide us as we each discern our own path in the light of God. Without conflict with, and in obedience to, what God commands.
 
Alex Ostrop
 
 
My Lighthouse  Rend Collective 

 
 
 
 

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