He Commands

DEVOTION
2 THESSALONIANS
HE COMMANDS
2 Thess 3:4-5
4 We have confidence in the Lord that you are doing and will continue to do the things we command. 5 May the Lord direct your hearts into God's love and Christ's perseverance.
NIV
I am not so sure of the correctness of the use of the word command here. As I approach this from the Greek, I see this word being defined more as transmitting a message alone from one to another. I do not think this is so much that Paul has commanded them as he has transmitted the commands of our Lord Jesus Christ onto them. Now I can deal with being told what God has said. I cannot deal with being told by some man as to how I am to behave or act. I cannot deal with the authority of a man who has set himself up as ruler over my spirit, my being, my free will. No, I submit only to the authority of my Lord Jesus Christ. Now do I listen to my pastor? Sure, for I am convinced he has been called by God to transmit the message or the commands of God. Yet he is not in authority of my being. I cannot simply obey his commands, but I can listen and discern his words thus digesting and assimilating those behaviors and actions into my being which are in accordance with the word of God. So I am not sure the translation of this Greek word is absolutely what God intents here, or at least the English word leaves it short. Nevertheless, I will do as he commands to the best of my ability. I fail a lot, I fall short a lot, I miss the mark a lot, but I think I am at least giving it the ole college try. I certainly would have to agree that my humanity gets in the way all too often. I would have to Jesus that my spirit may be willing but my body is weak. Yet I do desire to do what he commands of me. I hope and pray I can fulfill that desire. I surely need his grace, his divine influence, his guidance, his making straight my heart right into the love of God and that he would give me the patience to wait until my Lord Jesus Christ returns for me. It is not that I do not enjoy this life I have, I surely do. But I am also looking so forward to that day when my Jesus I shall see, when he takes me by the hand and leads me to that promised land, what I day, glories day that will be. But until then I shall continue to do the things he commands.