The Motive of Obedience

"Hear and testify against the house of Jacob," declares the Lord God, the God of hosts.

Amos was a sheepherder from a city named Tekoa, which was located in the Southern Kingdom of Judah, and was sent to the Northern Kingdom of Israel to prophecize against Israel. Although Judah and Israel were once one nation, in these days there were much hostility between the two nations. Jehoash, the king of Israel, had previously won a war against Amaziah, the king of Judah, and looted the temple that was in Jerusalem. Now Jeroboam II, son of Jehoash, was on the throne of Israel, and Uzziah, son of Amaziah, was on the throne of Judah; and as there was much hostility between their fathers, there was probably much hostility between them, resulting in a raise of hostility between the people of those nations. Now here is Amos, a resident of Judah, called to prophecize against Israel. Now the Bible doesn't say that Amos went because he had a passion for the people and wanted to see them restored into the Kingdom of God. It says that he went because God told him to. When Amos was confronted by one of the idol priests in Israel, Amos told him, "I am not a prophet, nor am I the son of a prophet; for I am a herdsman and a grower of sycamore figs. But the LORD took me from following the flock and the LORD said to me, 'Go prophesy to My people Israel.' Amos wasn't even a prophet. He took no vow to dedicate his life to hearing the word of the Lord. He was an everyday Israelite who just obeyed the Lord. Amos knew that being from Judah and prophesying toward the destruction and exile of Israel was dangerous and probably meant death; but he obeyed anyways, not because it was his life calling to prophesy or because he had a passion for the people of Israel, but because it was what the Lord asked of Him. As I learn about ministry in school and through this internship, there are a lot of things that I know I am gifted for and there are a lot of things that I am finding a passion for, but what happens when obedience to God means stepping outside of those realms, and what if stepping out in obedience means danger and lose of life. What then? Is my obedience to God purely based on whether or not I am gifted for it or whether or not I have a passion for it? Or does my obedience to God deal purely with whether or not he has asked me to do it? Something for me to think about...