January 14, 2019
OBEDIENCE
It’s related to both looking (observe) and listening (from Latin, “obedire,” which means “to give an ear”), but we all know what it means: Tow the line. Serve. Comply. Submit. Do your duty.
That's alright for soldiers, dogs, children, or employees, but does it really apply to me?
Obedience is an essential part of our relationship with God right from the start: in Genesis, Adam and Eve, Abraham and Isaac, and Lot and his wife all struggle with obedience, even before the Ten Commandments (or any of the other 603 commands God gave Israel). Again and again, God promises that obedience will lead to blessing (check out the list in Deuteronomy 28:1-7); again and again, disobedience leads to trouble for the People of God (check out the messages of the prophets if you've forgotten what that looks like).
You find references to "obedience" a lot more often in the Old Testament than in the New, and while we are accustomed to seeing this word go hand-in-hand with words like “rule” or “law” or “command,” sometimes it shows up in unexpected places.
In Mark 1:27, unclean spirits obey Jesus, and a few chapters later (in Mark 4:41) the wind and waves obey him, too. To say that the people who saw it were “amazed” is an understatement: “terrified” is more like it. Who is this guy?!
Who indeed? The wind and waves and evil spirits obeyed him, but even Jesus “humbled himself and became obedient to the point of death—even death on a cross” (Philippians 2:8).
If Jesus' relationship with God is characterized by obedience, maybe mine should be, too...
OBEDIENCE
It’s related to both looking (observe) and listening (from Latin, “obedire,” which means “to give an ear”), but we all know what it means: Tow the line. Serve. Comply. Submit. Do your duty.
That's alright for soldiers, dogs, children, or employees, but does it really apply to me?
Obedience is an essential part of our relationship with God right from the start: in Genesis, Adam and Eve, Abraham and Isaac, and Lot and his wife all struggle with obedience, even before the Ten Commandments (or any of the other 603 commands God gave Israel). Again and again, God promises that obedience will lead to blessing (check out the list in Deuteronomy 28:1-7); again and again, disobedience leads to trouble for the People of God (check out the messages of the prophets if you've forgotten what that looks like).
You find references to "obedience" a lot more often in the Old Testament than in the New, and while we are accustomed to seeing this word go hand-in-hand with words like “rule” or “law” or “command,” sometimes it shows up in unexpected places.
In Mark 1:27, unclean spirits obey Jesus, and a few chapters later (in Mark 4:41) the wind and waves obey him, too. To say that the people who saw it were “amazed” is an understatement: “terrified” is more like it. Who is this guy?!
Who indeed? The wind and waves and evil spirits obeyed him, but even Jesus “humbled himself and became obedient to the point of death—even death on a cross” (Philippians 2:8).
If Jesus' relationship with God is characterized by obedience, maybe mine should be, too...