From my book, A Healing Rosary, a brief look at the virtue of obedience to God’s will traditionally associated with The Fifth Joyful Mystery – The Finding in the Temple.
Obedience to God’s will is an inward and outward expression of our love for God, Who is love. Very simply, if we love Him, we will obey Him. Jesus said, “If you love me, you will keep my commandments. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate to be with you forever. This is the Spirit of truth.” (John 14:15-17) Obedience is the true test of our love for Christ and the secret to discovering God's will for our lives in the wisdom of the Holy Spirit.
God is all-powerful and all knowing. His will is perfect and always best. It is written, “For surely I know the plans I have for you, says the Lord, plans for your welfare, not for harm, to give you a future with hope.” (Jeremiah 29:11) God in His love always wants what is best for us, that which will bring us closer to Him that which will bring peace and joy to our lives.
But what exactly are we to obey? Jesus makes that clear for us; “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the greatest and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” (Matthew 22:37-39)
In a world where we are taught that we are free to live as we choose, that no one has the right to tell us what to do, and that we are to be our own boss it is challenging to be obedient to God’s will for us. Jesus encountered similar challenges, but he made the choice to walk in obedience to Our Father’s will, and said, “I do not seek my own will but the will of the one who sent me.” (John 5:30)
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