Who Do We Obey?

With this being my third e-devotion, I figured that deciphering the Holy Word would be a relatively simple task.  However, as I'm sure everyone knows, even the simplest sentence in Scripture can have so many different meanings!  But of the three readings for this week, the passage from Hebrews spoke to me the most.  It says, "'Sacrifices and offerings, burnt offerings and sin offerings you did not desire, nor were you pleased with them' (although the law required them to be made)" (Hebrews 10:8).  According to this, the laws of the land required certain things to be done, yet God was not pleased with them.  This brings up a topic that was discussed in my philosophy class more than most:  Which laws do we obey, mortal law or divine law?

This of course, as with almost every question in philosophy, is an unanswerable question.  But that doesn't mean it is something we shouldn't always be cognizant of.  Now I'm not saying to ignore the laws that hold our civilization together, or that we should always act without considering the consequences.  This passage just suggests to me that sometimes the social norms and restrictions set out by man may not be what God desires, even if we think so.  Did Jesus obey the law to save all of humanity?  During Pastor Hicks' wonderful month of stewardship, we were asked as a congregation to 'get behind Jesus'.  This might mean sometimes realizing that mortal impositions might need to be brought into question if we feel that God may not approve.  So during this holiday season I invite all of you to tune your souls to hear the Holy Spirit and let God tell you exactly what He wants.

I hope you all have a blessed and amazing remainder of the Christmas season,