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Scripture for the day: Hebrews 5:8-9 Though He was a Son, yet He learned obedience by the things which He suffered. And having been perfected, He became the author of eternal salvation to all who obey Him.
Thought for the day: In this Holy Week, we’re reminded, as we need to be, of the extremes to which the Savior was willing to go in order to secure our place in heaven. From the times of Jeremiah and before, the Lord had been calling out, “Return, O backsliding Israel, for I am merciful. Only acknowledge your sin that you have not obeyed My voice. Turn, O backsliding children,” says the Lord. The call is still out for today’s Israel, for you and for me. Somehow, over the centuries, we’ve come to the conclusion that there can be salvation without true repentance and relationship without true obedience. We, as fallen human beings have, perhaps entirely unconsciously, embraced the idea the doing as the Lord asks is a personal choice without consequences. I don’t thing Jesus would agree. He said, “Why do you call me Lord, and don’t do as I ask?” Let’s look for a few moments at the life of obedience characterized by the Savior.
First, Jesus appealed to the law as a reason to obey. He reminded His disciples that He’d come, not to destroy the law but to fulfill it. When asked what must be done to have eternal life, His reply was to ask the question, “What does the Law say? How do you read it?” My friends, if we are to follow closely the Savior, our goal must be to search our own hearts and root out any areas in which we tend to be disobedient. These must be confessed and abandoned. The Ten Commandments are still commandments and not meant to be watered down with the excuse that we are, after all, only human. How easy it is to lie in the small things, especially when we’re trying to avoid hurting someone’s feelings. If we are to be honest before God, the “little things” must be put away through the power of the Spirit living in us, just as surely as any other sin.
Second, Jesus provided a way to obedience by introducing the law of love. If we are to be obedient to the Savior, we will make mercy a habit. We will learn to love our enemies and do good to those who hate us. Each instance of unforgiveness, no matter the cause, is a matter of disobedience. Every hurtful word, every instance of retaliation, no matter how fully justified in our own eyes, is disobedience to the call to love that the Savior brought.
Third, Jesus calls us to self-denial. Let’s be honest, the primary reason for disobedience in our relationship with Him is our desire to have what we want when we want it. Jesus said, “The first shall be last and the last shall be first.” In our pride, even when we try to be last and be a servant to all, we tend to do so because we want to be first; our desire is to satisfy the cravings of this world. When we refuse to deny those things that would separate us from Him, we are in danger because self-will, self-promotion, self-seeking, just self, is the source of sin in our lives. Jesus was our perfect example of what it means to deny self, take up the cross, and put obedience above our own comfort. He denied everything He was entitled to and became the lowliest of servants, for you and for me. Can we do less?
Finally, Christ claims the love of our hearts. The person who has not made the commitment to be obedient in all things cannot hope to have the assurance that he or she is doing all the will of God. And the only way we can know we are fully following Him is to understand that we cannot grow out of disobedience. We must be willing to turn back from it, to turn away from our own direction. A decision must be made on our part. We must have a crisis moment of absolute consecration to the will of God, to God Himself.
Lord, my prayer is that You will show us any moment, any area of disobedience, to the end that we may learn to trust You to set our hearts aright, that we may follow You completely. Amen.
Now go take on your world. - Bill