G.R.O.W.
Obedience
My father spent most of his childhood and adolescent years living in central Africa, as the son of missionaries who taught at a seminary in Congo/Zaire. Of the many fascinating experiences that my father had while growing up in Africa, one story particularly stands out when I think about the term “obedience.” One afternoon, while playing in the yard as a young boy, his father (my grandfather) approached him and very quietly, very calmly, ordered him: “Allen, come here.” Perplexed, yet without hesitation, he responded as requested. After he reached my grandfather, my grandfather turned him around and pointed at a large snake in a tree branch hanging right over where my father had just been playing. Prompt obedience spared my father from serious harm that day.
If obeying an earthly father (or mother / grandparent / relative / mentor) can produce such benefits, imagine what the results can be when we obey our perfect Heavenly Father!
Actually, we don’t have to imagine what it would look like, since Jesus gives us an excellent depiction: “Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock” (Matthew 7:24-25). What is the key phrase in those verses? “And does them.” Whenever we obey what Jesus has taught us, we become like that waterproof, unsinkable, unshakable house that can withstand any of life’s storms that are certain to come. Sounds appealing, right?
Yet there’s also an important contrast. Jesus continued: “Everyone who hears these words of mine and does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell, and great was the fall of it” (Matthew 7:26-27). In our human pride, we like to think that we have a choice to obey or not to obey. We can sometimes think that the rules (e.g., speed limit signs, the “no free refills” sticker at the fast food drink machine, etc.) apply to everyone else, but not to us. The only thing more likely to lead to a fall than that sense of pride is summertime.
Indeed, Scripture gives us a much different picture. Our choice is NOT “to obey or not to obey.” No, God’s Word tells us that we are all obeying something, and our only choice is what (or whom) we obey. Romans 6:16 puts it this way: “Do you not know that if you present yourselves to anyone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin, which leads to death, or of obedience, which leads to righteousness?” Choosing to obey God’s commands leads to life and righteousness. Willful and/or ignorant disobedience of God’s instruction is clearly labeled as sin, and such actions earn death as their reward. It’s a simple “A or B” choice with a very obvious correct answer, yet we must plead for God’s help to get our brain and our behaviors in sync.
Need one more reason to consider adopting the attitude of obedience in your desire to grow as a Christian? Throughout Scripture, there is a clear correlation between our obedience and a demonstration of our love for Christ. Jesus said, “If anyone loves me, he will keep my word” (John 14:23). 1 John 5:2-3 adds this: “By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and obey his commandments. For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments. And his commandments are not burdensome.” That hits the nail on the head, doesn’t it? Part of our resistance to obey is because we feel it is burdensome. If Jesus were cynical (good thing He’s not!), He would have every right to look down at us and say, “You want to talk about burdens?!? I made myself to be nothing, became the sins that you committed, bore the punishment for your wrongdoing, died a painful death, and rose again to offer you eternal life even while you were still actively despising me.” Gulp. Sorry, Lord.
When you and I are humbled by that realization, and motivated by God’s design for obedience, we have a final question to ask: What does it look like to obey? There is a pointed charge to God’s chosen people in 1 Peter 1:14-15: “As obedient children, do not be conformed to the passions of your former ignorance, but as he who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct.” Another phrase for “holy” is to be “set apart.” In other words, we are to act differently from the rest of the lost world around us, and we are to be passionate about a dramatically different vision than what captivated our ignorant attention when we were lost. Philippians 2:12 calls us to “work out” our salvation with fear and trembling, just like someone who goes to the gym and sweats, strains, and pushes through the exhaustion in order to achieve a higher goal. In the same way, obedience is a daily commitment, it’s dependent on God’s power, and it culminates in a personal holiness that points others toward our heavenly Father.
· Who do we obey? God. (the alternative is frightening)
· What do we obey? All His commandments.
· Why do we obey? Because He first loved us (and obedience demonstrates our love for Him).
· How do we obey? By putting His words into action, applying them to our lives - without hesitation.
- Josh Muchmore
My father spent most of his childhood and adolescent years living in central Africa, as the son of missionaries who taught at a seminary in Congo/Zaire. Of the many fascinating experiences that my father had while growing up in Africa, one story particularly stands out when I think about the term “obedience.” One afternoon, while playing in the yard as a young boy, his father (my grandfather) approached him and very quietly, very calmly, ordered him: “Allen, come here.” Perplexed, yet without hesitation, he responded as requested. After he reached my grandfather, my grandfather turned him around and pointed at a large snake in a tree branch hanging right over where my father had just been playing. Prompt obedience spared my father from serious harm that day.
If obeying an earthly father (or mother / grandparent / relative / mentor) can produce such benefits, imagine what the results can be when we obey our perfect Heavenly Father!
Actually, we don’t have to imagine what it would look like, since Jesus gives us an excellent depiction: “Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock” (Matthew 7:24-25). What is the key phrase in those verses? “And does them.” Whenever we obey what Jesus has taught us, we become like that waterproof, unsinkable, unshakable house that can withstand any of life’s storms that are certain to come. Sounds appealing, right?
Yet there’s also an important contrast. Jesus continued: “Everyone who hears these words of mine and does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell, and great was the fall of it” (Matthew 7:26-27). In our human pride, we like to think that we have a choice to obey or not to obey. We can sometimes think that the rules (e.g., speed limit signs, the “no free refills” sticker at the fast food drink machine, etc.) apply to everyone else, but not to us. The only thing more likely to lead to a fall than that sense of pride is summertime.
Indeed, Scripture gives us a much different picture. Our choice is NOT “to obey or not to obey.” No, God’s Word tells us that we are all obeying something, and our only choice is what (or whom) we obey. Romans 6:16 puts it this way: “Do you not know that if you present yourselves to anyone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin, which leads to death, or of obedience, which leads to righteousness?” Choosing to obey God’s commands leads to life and righteousness. Willful and/or ignorant disobedience of God’s instruction is clearly labeled as sin, and such actions earn death as their reward. It’s a simple “A or B” choice with a very obvious correct answer, yet we must plead for God’s help to get our brain and our behaviors in sync.
Need one more reason to consider adopting the attitude of obedience in your desire to grow as a Christian? Throughout Scripture, there is a clear correlation between our obedience and a demonstration of our love for Christ. Jesus said, “If anyone loves me, he will keep my word” (John 14:23). 1 John 5:2-3 adds this: “By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and obey his commandments. For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments. And his commandments are not burdensome.” That hits the nail on the head, doesn’t it? Part of our resistance to obey is because we feel it is burdensome. If Jesus were cynical (good thing He’s not!), He would have every right to look down at us and say, “You want to talk about burdens?!? I made myself to be nothing, became the sins that you committed, bore the punishment for your wrongdoing, died a painful death, and rose again to offer you eternal life even while you were still actively despising me.” Gulp. Sorry, Lord.
When you and I are humbled by that realization, and motivated by God’s design for obedience, we have a final question to ask: What does it look like to obey? There is a pointed charge to God’s chosen people in 1 Peter 1:14-15: “As obedient children, do not be conformed to the passions of your former ignorance, but as he who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct.” Another phrase for “holy” is to be “set apart.” In other words, we are to act differently from the rest of the lost world around us, and we are to be passionate about a dramatically different vision than what captivated our ignorant attention when we were lost. Philippians 2:12 calls us to “work out” our salvation with fear and trembling, just like someone who goes to the gym and sweats, strains, and pushes through the exhaustion in order to achieve a higher goal. In the same way, obedience is a daily commitment, it’s dependent on God’s power, and it culminates in a personal holiness that points others toward our heavenly Father.
· Who do we obey? God. (the alternative is frightening)
· What do we obey? All His commandments.
· Why do we obey? Because He first loved us (and obedience demonstrates our love for Him).
· How do we obey? By putting His words into action, applying them to our lives - without hesitation.
- Josh Muchmore