Obedience

    “What do you think? There was a man who had two sons. He went to the first and said, ‘Son, go and work today in the vineyard.’
   29 “‘I will not,’ he answered, but later he changed his mind and went.
   30 “Then the father went to the other son and said the same thing. He answered, ‘I will, sir,’ but he did not go.
   31 “Which of the two did what his father wanted?”
   “The first,” they answered.
  Jesus said to them, “Truly I tell you, the tax collectors and the prostitutes are entering the kingdom of God ahead of you. 32 For John came to you to show you the way of righteousness, and you did not believe him, but the tax collectors and the prostitutes did. And even after you saw this, you did not repent and believe him.
Matthew 21:28-32

God wants obedience, not long winded fancy prayer, lip service, or procrastination. When Jesus saw His disciples and said "Follow Me", the scriptures record that the disciples immediately left their vocations, fathers, homes, etc. and obeyed Him. You cannot fool the Lord, with smooth talking, rationalizations, or good intentions. The tax collector who beat on his chest, crying out for God's mercy and forgiveness was justified and accepted because his heart was broken, contrite, and in desperate need of God - unlike the pompous Pharisee, who was surrounded with all the air of religious superiority and pride, whose heart was not burning with desire for God, and who was all talk, no obedience. He wants obedience, not empty sacrifices.
God made our hearts for His dwelling place! When the heart is full of idols, there cannot be obedience, only when we let the Lord take His place in the center of our hearts is obedience possible. The Bridegroom and the Bride of Christ - us- is the greatest love story ever. There is a wedding day coming!