My son Jeremy has a black Lab named Maggie.  She’s been trained to hunt with him and I’ve never seen a dog so eager to please her master.  She loves to play, but more than that she loves to obey.  Even when he’s working with her and throws a duck toy for her to retrieve, I’ve never seen a dog so eager to please.  It’s like every fiber in her body and every thought in her mind is on high alert and she’s focused on one thing alone; “obey my master and fetch it up.”  And when she’s released to fetch the toy, she runs full tilt until she returns to his side to give the toy to him.  After going through a variety of commands and training exercises, sometimes Jeremy will just play with Maggie and let her have some fun.  She gets so excited she’ll run around the yard half a dozen times at what seems to be 100 mph, but when play time is over – she’s back by his side to work and obey.

She seems to get ultimate joy out of obeying her master and loves every part of the process.  I wish we (those of us who claim to be Christians) were as giddy about being obedient to God as Maggie is to Jeremy.  I don’t remember which speaker it was at Catalyst Dallas who said this, but it was profound: “God’s love language is obedience.”   In John 14:15 NASB, Jesus says:  “If you love Me, you will keep My commandments.”