Legalism or Love?

There was once a married couple who didn’t love each other.  The day they got married, the husband handed his wife a list of chores for her to follow.  He insisted that she do all the tasks on her list every day.  The wife worked hard to accomplish her assigned duties, but she was miserable as she performed them.  Ironing his clothes, preparing his meals, cleaning house---every task was burdensome.  Although she obeyed all his rules, she never enjoyed a loving relationship with her husband.

Then one day her husband died.  After several years had passed, she fell in love with another man and got married.  The new husband never required her to do anything, much less a list of jobs.  Instead, he showered her with love and did everything he could to make her happy.

One day this wife was joyfully cleaning house when she discovered her first husband’s list of commands tucked away in a drawer.  As she read the paper, it dawned on her that she was performing every task on the list, but now she was serving with joy instead of misery.  Her love for her second husband inspired her to automatically do the same jobs that he first husband had required.  She had served her first husband out of duty, but her second husband out of love.

God wants us to serve Him out of jubilation, not obligation.  Legalism adds weights to our work, but love gives wings to our service.

(Kent Crockett, Making Today Count for Eternity, Multnomah Publishers)