Obedience

January 19, 2021

DAILY READING

1 Samuel 15:10-31

FIELD NOTES

My four year old is a rascal. Dennis the menace, incarnate. Famous for asking forgiveness rather than permission. Often we have to give him very clear rules and expectations. And like any four year old, he pushes every boundary as he learns to navigate the world around him. My favorite response he gives when we get onto him is this—

“Daddy I’m sorry.”

“I know you are. But you still broke the rules and you still have to go to time out.”

“But Daddy, I said I was sorry.”

How often are we the same way, doing as we please, only to pay lip service to the rules after we have already broken them?

Samuel asks, “Does the Lord delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices more than obedience?”

QUESTIONS FOR THE FIELD

• Are you a permission person or a forgiveness person? Why?

FAMILY FIELD TALK

• What does obedience mean to you? Why do our parents and God want us to be obedient?

PRAYER GUIDE

Lord, help us follow you as best we can. Amen.