Have any of you gone through, at some point in your life, a rebellious phase? Or maybe the question should be, has anyone not gone through a time of rebellion. For me, it was when I was about 16 years old and I could not wait to get off the farm in PA and leave it behind. I entered college as a 17-year-old and never looked back. Now it seems clear to me that one of my problems was disobedience, specifically disobedience to my parents.
Which got me to thinking. As Christians, how well do we do regarding obeying God? Answer for yourselves which of the following statements best describes your level of obedience:
1) I always obey God.
2) I obey God most of the time.
3) I obey God some of the time.
Clearly obedience to God is one of the requirements of our faith:
“It is the LORD your God you must follow, and him you must revere. Keep his commands and obey him; serve him and hold fast to him.” [Deuteronomy 13:4]
“Your statutes are wonderful; therefore I obey them.” [Psalm 119:129]
“This is love for God; to obey his commands.” [I John 5:3a,b]
And I would be remiss if I left out the most striking example of obedience in the entire history of the world:
“Going a little farther, he fell with his face to the ground and prayed, “My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will.'” [Matthew 26:39]
Jesus had the power to avoid His crucifixion, and yet He willingly chose to obey God in order to complete His salvation plan for fallen mankind. What a great example to follow in our quest to be more obedient to God. If Jesus can obey God the day before His painful crucifixion, cannot we obey God when He asks us to do something to further His kingdom?
Blessings,
Keith