Obedience

There is a discipline of the heart that is missing from most of the lists found in books about spiritual disciplines. It is essential to the practice of our faith. It needs to be put into our lives every single day. It is a lifestyle of wholehearted obedience to the word of God.

I recently heard a seasoned missionary say something that has stuck with me. He said that God’s love language to us is His mercy and grace, but that we cannot give mercy and grace back to God in return. Our love language to Him is our unreserved obedience. Obedience is how we show our love to God. This is profound.

Think through with me many of the Scriptures that sum up how we should live:

The Great Commission: “Go, therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe (obey) all that I commanded you, and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Matthew 28:19-20

The story of the wise man who built his house on the rock: “Therefore everyone who hears these words of Mine and acts upon them (obeys them) may be compared to a wise man who built his house upon the rock. And the rain descended and the floods came and the winds blew and burst against that house; and yet it did not fall for it had been founded upon the rock.” Matthew 7:25-26.

The promise in Joshua 1 about meditating on the Scriptures: “This book of the law shall not depart form your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it (obey it), for then you will make your way prosperous and then you will have success.” Joshua 1:8

Promises from Jesus in John 14 and 15: “He who has My commandments and keeps them (obeys them), he it is who loves Me; and he who loves Me shall be loved by My Father, and I will love him, and will disclose Myself to him.” John 14:21

“If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word (obey Me); and My Father will love him and We will come to him and make Our abode with him. He who does not love me does not keep My words (refuses to obey) and the word which you hear is not Mine but the Father’s who sent Me.” John 14:23-24

The word “abode” in John 14:23 means a dwelling place, a home, the act of abiding. Jesus makes His home with us when we unconditionally obey His word. In the next chapter, John 15, Jesus emphasizes the importance of the branches (you and me) abiding in the vine (Jesus). The key to abiding is obedience. We abide when we remain, stay with Him, obey Him. When we abide in Him we bear much fruit; for apart from Jesus we can do nothing. John 15:5. When we abide we receive His joy made full and answers to our prayers. John 15:7,11.

The apostle John sums it up this way, “By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and observe (obey) His commandments. For this is the love of God that we keep (obey) His commandments; and His commandments are not burdensome.” I John 5:2-3

James says it succinctly: “Prove yourselves doers of the word, and not merely hearers who delude themselves.” James 1:22.

Jesus sums up the Sermon on the Mount with these words, “Why do you call Me, “Lord, Lord,” and do not do what I say?” Luke 6:46.

Obedience is the key to living the Christian life. It doesn’t matter if you have been walking with the Lord for a long period of time or are just beginning in your relationship with the Lord. Obedience is the key. Pick up the Bible and read it but don’t just fill your head with facts, put it into your life by obeying it, live it out. Because you reverently respect and love Jesus, do what He says, obey Him. This is radical Christianity.

Obedience is the key to living the Christian life but there is more to it than just checking the box of superficial obedience. I remember the story of a young girl whose father told her to sit down. She refused. He told her again to sit down. This went on for a while. Finally she sat down and he commended her for sitting down. She said, “I may be sitting down on the outside but I am standing up on the inside!” Jesus looks on our hearts. He is always concerned with our motives. It is not enough to obey Him on the surface, He wants our hearts.

We can also obey not out of our love for the Lord and respect for His word, but because we are trying to impress others with our own righteousness. We can obey like the Pharisees obeyed while their hearts were far from God. They were legalistic.Their religion was to impress others. Our motives are as important to the Lord as our outer actions. The motive that pleases the Lord is when we unreservedly obey Him because we love Him.

Wholehearted obedience is how you show your love for God. It is very important in our walk with the Lord but isn’t always easy. Obedience to the Lord will eventually mean denying self. It means taking up your cross daily, dying to self. Imagine you are walking on the road with the Lord. You are in fellowship with Him, you are abiding in the Vine. But a choice comes up. If you decide to go your own way, it will mean you will diverge from the Lord’s path. Staying on the path with the Lord will mean dying to self. It goes against your nature. It is never easy to die to self. You need to decide ahead of time, you are going to follow Jesus no matter what and ask Him for the grace to do that. Commit to going the Lord’s way. He will give you the strength to obey if you lean into Him. Obedience will yield untold blessings. In the words of Mary the mother of Jesus, “Whatever He says to you, do it.” John 2:5.

Heavenly Father,
Your word shows me that obedience is the way I show my love to You. Help me to unreservedly obey You from my heart. Give me the grace and strength to follow You even when it means dying to self. May obedience to Your word be the hallmark of my life.
In Jesus’ name,
Amen