The Way to God’s Heart

Moses spoke to the people, saying: “This day the Lord, your God, commands you to observe these statutes and decrees….with all your heart and with all your soul…you are to be a people peculiarly his own, as he promised you; and provided you keep all his commandments, …and you will be a people sacred to the Lord, your God, as he promised.” Deuteronomy 26:16-19

Obedience is very important to God. In 1 Samuel 15:22, we read, “Obedience is better than sacrifice.” 

King Saul had to learn the hard way that God was displeased with him because of his disobedience. In Deuteronomy 8, a chapter in the Old Testament Jesus liked to quote from, we see a picture of what we would be like if we disobeyed God. Verse 19 reads, “But I assure you of this: If you ever forget the Lord your God and follow other gods...you will certainly be destroyed.” 

In the novel “The Picture of Dorian Gray” written by Oscar Wilde in 1890, it tells of a handsome man who had his portrait painted. Gray, in his vanity, sells his soul to preserve his looks and ensure that the painting would age instead of him! Not only did the painting age, it showed evidence of every sin and crime Gray committed as he slipped more and more into an amoral and decadent lifestyle. 

It may be that we live a righteous life, we fast on days we are obligated to, we say 2000 Hail Marys with our church group, and we give alms to the poor. What is the portrait of our soul that God sees? Are we obedient to Him, humble not arrogant, loving and forgiving towards our neighbors? Or are we like the Pharisees who like to make an outward show of their holiness and obedience to the smallest letter of the law? 

Father, show us the way to Your heart!