Would you rather be asked to do something, or told to, commanded to? In most situations that question is easily answered, very few people enjoy being told what to do, they do not enjoy being made to feel as if they are being forced to do something, especially when the commandment almost always infers the possibility of repercussions, that is after all, what a commandment is, an order given to someone by a superior that is to be obeyed, if it is not, most generally there will be some form of punishment.
When we are asked to perform a task, we are in essence given an option, the choice, as it were, has been left up to us, we can choose to or not to, there is no obeying in the answer of asking, only in commandments, and it is obvious that we must only follow the commandments placed upon us by our superiors in this area.
I was actually employed once at a place where my supervisor would almost always ask me instead of telling me to perform a particular task, needless to say he was not amused the times that I said that I would consider it. “A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another.” (John 13:34) Now my brothers and sisters in Christ, do you see the word “ask” in the verse, do you read into it “It would really make me happy if you would…” No, you do not, so all you really have to decide here, if what I have just written is truth, is the Lord Jesus in a position in your life where you believe that His commandments should be followed, to the letter, do you see anyplace here that leaves any options for you except to obey?
No you do not, and then we add John 14:15, “If ye love me, keep my commandments,” then we have just struck a very serious nerve, haven’t we. If He is Lord of your life and you love Him, then your feelings about the issue at hand are immaterial, no matter what the commandment is, no matter the personal cost to yourself, no matter the consequences or outcome, if you love Christ you will obey Christ.
He is not asking us to, He is not leaving us with any other options, if you think that this or any other commandment of our Lord is a suggestion, or if you believe that He is leaving us with options in this area, you are mistaken. If your enemy hates you and persecutes you, you are to pray for him, (Matt. 5:44) if he steals your coat, you are not to let him leave until you give him your cloak also, (Matt. 5:40) all those and every other commandment that you can think of that our Savior gave to us are to be obeyed without question, not because we fear what might possibly happen to us if we do not, but because we love Him, and we are showing that love by being obedient.
Almost everything that He told us to do goes against nearly every fiber of our being, and the root of that is that we do not want to be told what we have to do, we want to exercise what we believe is our own free will, and we in most cases refuse to see disobedience as rebellion, instead we look at these verses as good suggestions. We tend to think that our thoughts are the same as our actual actions we rely on 1 Samuel 16:7, “but the LORD looketh on the heart,” instead of literally obeying the commandments given to us out of a love for Christ and only for that reason.
“Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works?” (Matt. 7:22) And nearly every one of them will look back on a life full of good intentions and very little action. These are the hearers of the word, not the doers. (James 1:22)
It is quite simple actually, I do not believe my lovely wife has ever attempted to tell me to do anything, she asks, but even if she did tell me, I would still do as she requested, because I love her. “For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments: and his commandments are not grievous.” (1 John 5:3) Because we love Him, and those who understand that they are loved with an eternal love never see anything that He commands as burdensome, we gladly reply, “Yes, Lord” each and every time, sometimes with a little complaining, but He is a loving Father, and mercifully looks right past that.
