Our part and God's part = child and parent

Hello family,

I want to take a moment to pause and remember that God is unchanging, but we are not.  We change, so if you've lost your way it's not God who needs to change (He is unchangeable) its you because you are changeable.

With God we are children, but sometimes when things don't go our way we forget who our Father is and we reverse the roles.  We make ourselves the boss and God our child, telling God what to do and how to do it.  But of course this never works because God is unchanging.  He cannot ever stop being God, but we can stop being His children.

We do our part as the child and God does His as the Parent, but what is our part?  Thank God our part is not about being perfect!  Christ took care of that for us.

When Israel was told how to walk before God, God was saying that this is the way- the unchanging way- to walk before Me.  The unchanging part was not about Israel's place before God as His people, but about the way to be.  Israel was graciously shown the way to be God's people, but they were responsible for responding to it.  They could choose or choose not to listen.  They chose not to.

“A man of God came to Eli and said to him, “This is what the Lord says: ‘Didn’t I reveal Myself to your ancestral house when it was in Egypt and belonged to Pharaoh’s palace?
Out of all the tribes of Israel, I selected your house to be priests, to offer sacrifices on My altar, to burn incense, and to wear an ephod in My presence.
I also gave your house all the Israelite fire offerings.
Why, then, do all of you despise My sacrifices and offerings that I require at the place of worship?
You have honored your sons more than Me, by making yourselves fat with the best part of all of the offerings of My people Israel.’”
‭‭1 Samuel‬ ‭2:27-29‬ ‭

Basically God is saying, I told you who I was.  I'm God Almighty!  And is that how you respond to God?  By stealing my food and ignoring my presence?  If that's how you "honor me" then NO LONGER will I be your God.  God does not change the way He is.
You either treat God as God or you don't.  If He's not treated like He's your Father then He won't be.  Eli's sons disregarded God again and again without repentance so God disregarded them without mercy.  Repentance is a request for mercy, but you can't take hold of something you never reached for.  

1. "Then I will raise up a faithful priest for Myself.

2. He will do whatever is in My heart and mind.

3. I will establish a lasting dynasty for him,

4. and he will walk before My anointed one for all time.”
‭‭1 Samuel‬ ‭2:35‬ ‭

Notice that this faithful priest is not a robot.
God is going to raise someone up, raising a child means teaching them what's right from wrong through a long process of falling and getting back up, mourning losses and celebrating victories.  God is saying He is going to enter into a Father-child relationship with one who will end up doing His will not by force but by learning and being taught.  Unlike the rebellious sons of Eli, this person would respond to God as their good Father which would produce repentance and growing obedience.  Any child who really trusts their parents will listen but the one who distrusts their parents will simply ignore them and do whatever they think is right in their own eyes--that's what Eli's sons did.  God was looking for a true son not a fake child.

--->We do as we are taught.  (Who is teaching you?  Choose your teachers wisely. <---

THEN! God said, after this person has been raised and trained by God, God will establish his ways because if you do things God's way then you'll get God's promised results.  God knows what we need and He knows how to get it.  So if He teaches us then He will prove Himself worthy of His own methods through our obedience.

Love you guys.
Jmegrey