Some confuse obedience with earning the blessing. They are vastly different. The concept of earning is tied in with dead works. Obedience is the result of a relationship with the Father; whereas earning things is the result of trying to gain the relationship. Obedience is work of faith, which springs out of the relationship. Earned blessing has no faith involved because it is self-generated. Remember, Romans 10:17 says, “Faith cometh by hearing and hearing by the Word of God” (KJV). In order for there to be a work of faith there has to be hearing first, and hearing His voice requires a relationship with Him. The word obedience means to listen attentively with belief, while purposing to conform to the will of God out of love for Him.
When people earn something, they feel they have right to it. There is no gratitude attached to the blessing or to “what is earned.” When the Father blesses someone as the result of their obedience, one should be filled with gratitude because he recognizes it was God Who gave the blessing. The obedience was not a form of labor where one earns something -“the sweat of the brow.” It is a labor of love in which the individual was able to work along side Abba as the result of the relationship. He recognizes that it was the Father Who was actually doing the work through him by the Spirit. For it is God Who prospers the works of our hands. The concept of earning the blessing has the ol’ “I have to . . .” attached to it; whereas obedience says, “I get to . . .” 1John 45:3 says, “For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments: and His commandments are not grievous” (KJV).
Truthfully, we cannot earn the blessing. It is a gift given from above. The Father pours out blessings upon us everyday, and they are so numerous that we cannot count them. Yet, not one of them is earned; it is given. We did not earn life itself, much less the oxygen that fills our lungs and the ability to enjoy His great love. The many things we take for granted are blessings from above -none of which we have earned. In fact, the blessings of God draw us to Him.
The question is: do we want God or the blessings? Another question is: does God really owe us the blessings? Shouldn’t we be grateful that we have been afforded the opportunity to know Him, especially since we were sinners to begin with? Do we really have a “right” to the blessings of God? We should be thankful to Him for Him -that in itself is a blessing!
