diligent indifference‏

Oswald cut to the quick with this tasty bit.

 

Just because I have listened carefully and intently to one thing from God does not mean that I will listen to everything He says. I show God my lack of love and respect for Him by the insensitivity of my heart and mind toward what He says. If I love my friend, I will instinctively understand what he wants. And Jesus said, “You are My friends . . .” (John 15:14). Have I disobeyed some command of my Lord’s this week? If I had realized that it was a command of Jesus,I would not have deliberately disobeyed it. But most of us show incredible disrespect to God because we don’t even hear Him. He might as well never have spoken to us.

 

Most people who call themselves Christians know enough to say that they would say, “Yes” to whatever Jesus asked. I would not disobey on purpose. I sin by accident.

 

Oswald on this particular point is not calling into question the genuine discipleship of those who disobey Jesus. He is wanting to highlight the fact that many disobey Jesus not because they say, “No” when He says, “Go,” but because they never went because they were not paying attention to what He was saying in the first place.

 

Do you read your Bible?

Do you spend time in prayer?

 

If not, when do you hear from Him?

 

We disobey daily not only in our destructive deeds, but also in our diligent indifference.

 

We work hard at hardly working at all.