Obedience.  It doesn’t sound like an enjoyable concept, does it?  (Unless you’re a parent or a teacher, and then I’m certain it sounds very enjoyable!)  But of course I mean our own obedience, to God.  As much as we want to cringe away from the topic, God wants to show us that obedience is not a burden to be avoided, but a joy with many rewards.

The other day I was giving some words of comfort to a friend who was, not to get too specific, feeling uncertain about the future.  A phrase came to me that I know didn’t come from my own mind, except through the Holy Spirit telling me what to say.  I told my friend, “We walk in obedience.  We step out in faith, and we don’t know what the future will bring.  But we can be certain that God is in control, no matter what happens.”  And I started thinking about that concept, obedience.  What does it mean to really obey God’s commands?  Why should we obey God’s commands?

Don't you know that when you offer yourselves to someone to obey him as slaves, you are slaves to the one whom you obey—whether you are slaves to sin, which leads to death, or to obedience, which leads to righteousness?

-Romans 6:16

It is simple.  We can choose death, or we can choose righteousness.  I’m sure you’ve heard of this concept before, that we are all slaves to something.  Am I a slave to money, earning and saving and spending it?  Am I a slave to status, wanting to appear superior, wanting to have the best house and car and “stuff?”  Am I a slave to image, what other people think of me, being thin enough or staying young-looking, or being well-dressed?  Am I possibly a slave to an addiction, be it alcohol or pornography or even television or food? 

Or am I a slave to the Lord?  Have I given myself to God, committed my life to living according to what Jesus teaches us?

Suppose you had to cross a field that was full of land mines. A person who knew exactly where every one of them was buried offered to take you through it. Would you say to him, “I don’t want you to tell me what to do. I don’t want you to impose your ways on me”? I don’t know about you, but I would stay as close to that person as I could. I certainly would not go wandering off. His directions to me would preserve my life. He would say, “Don’t go that way, because that way will kill you. Go this way and you will live.”

-“Experiencing God” by Henry T. Blackaby & Claude V. King

We don’t necessarily need to know where all the land mines are, or what will happen if we step on them.  We just need to trust the One who can lead us safely through, and we need to obey what He tells us.  But what does it mean, to walk in obedience?  Scripture tells us that obedience begins in the heart.  Dr. Kenneth Boa explores this in an article entitled “Obedience.”

“Does the Lord delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as much as in obeying the voice of the Lord? To obey is better than sacrifice, and to heed is better than the fat of rams. For rebellion is like the sin of divination, and arrogance is like the evil of idolatry. Because you have rejected the word of the Lord, he has rejected you as king.”

- Samuel 15:22-23

As important as it is to perform the ritual correctly, Samuel says, it would be better to not do it at all than do it with a rebellious heart. It is not externalism that pleases God; it’s the internal attitude and inclination of the heart. It is possible to perform religious activities and still be in rebellion against God.

Don’t think God is fooled by our actions, no matter how good!  He sees what is on the inside and He cares more about that than what is on the outside.  We need to invite Him in, ask Him to change us from the inside, to change our rebellious, selfish, worldly hearts to hearts that delight in Him.

But won’t it be hard, and miserable, and even impossible to obey God’s commands?  Doesn’t God want me to be happy in this life?  Well, God never promised it would be easy to follow Him.  He does, however, promise that He will always be there. And following the Lord has some byproducts that are even better than simple happiness, if you can believe it!  Dr. Boa goes on to say:

The Bible never says God wants you to be happy; he wants you to be holy. He wants you to be like Christ. That may lead to happiness ultimately, but it doesn’t work the other way around. The quest for happiness will never lead to a life of holiness, but the quest for holiness leads to a life characterized by love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. These come as a byproduct of pursuing God above all else.

Jesus followed God’s command, right to the cross.  He died for our sins, yours and mine.  He died so that, despite our inability to express perfect obedience, his perfect obedience would cover our imperfections.  It is a strange duality, this idea that Jesus’ perfect obedience redeems our imperfect souls, and yet he asks us to commit our lives to him and walk in obedience.  But it is the most rewarding pursuit in life, pursuing God and learning to be like Christ.

For just as through the disobedience of the one man the many were made sinners, so also through the obedience of the one man the many will be made righteous.

-Romans 5:19