January 22,1998
Dear Br. Steven:
Is there something in your life, as there is in mine, that we know we ought to do, that the Lord may be prompting us, but we resist, pleading some excuse for our lack of obedience? In the life of every Christian, the Lord brings to our notice some sin, or fault, or shortcoming. Is our immediate response one of joy and gratitude for the Lord’s condescension in revealing these defects and an instant willingness to obey him?
In Mark’s gospel, Christ is portrayed as in an attitude of
instant obedience and compliance with all of his Father’s
requirements. He is never found hesitating or equivocating or
making excuses or faltering. The only possible exception, to this
habit of instant compliance, might be found in the Garden of Gethsemane
where Christ petitioned his Father three times to be excused from
the sacrifice required of him.
Considering the consequences of obedience, he certainly can’t
be faulted for his thrice repeated prayer, yet he always ended
his petitions with a prayer of submission. None of us have ever
been asked, nor will we ever be asked to go to hell for an eternity
that another person may enter heaven. Yet this is the very sacrifice
Christ was being asked to make and it is the attitude all true-heated
Christians must posses if we are ever qualified to live with Christ
for an eternity.
Obedience, how hard it is for men to willingly obey a superior.
Perhaps we obey when our job or paycheck are on the line, or for
some other selfish reason, but do we obey Christ with alacrity
when he urges us to give up some pet sin, or forsake some pleasure
that is not good for us?
There is a particularly nice gospel song that I learned as a child,
“Trust and Obey, for there is no other way.” Obedience
is frequently predicated upon trusting Christ to know what is
best for us. However, our pride often gets in the way for we think
we are competent to direct our lives and don’t need his help
or guidance. Only in rare circumstances is Christ sought after
for His wisdom when all else has failed us.
But Christ, a man in the full sense of the word, never consulted
his own wisdom or pleasure but always submitted his will to his
father and quickly obeyed when his duty was pointed out.
The Bible says that Christ was subject to all the temptations
that beset men. Think not that his struggle in the Garden of Gethsemane
was not intense, no, it was more intense then you or I will ever
be called upon to endure, yet he submitted his will to his Father.
Would that we were as quick as Christ to obey, but, no, we must
often debate the matter with the Lord or others before deciding
wether to obey.
Many years ago, while I was a member of the Methodist church,
I listened to a young man explain why he would not enter the missionary
field. He freely acknowledged that the Lord had called him to
be a missionary and he felt himself qualified to follow Christ’s
direction and he was willing to go. Why then was he making the
astounding statement before the entire congregation that he would
not enter the mission field? After careful prayer and study, with
his pastor, they decided that the Lord was only testing his willingness
and was not actually requiring him to forsake future plans and
comforts for the benefit of natives who had not heard the gospel.
Thus he reasoned, and thus he dismissed the plainest instruction
of the Holy Spirit. Fearful are the consequences when we refuse
to obey the Lord. While I never heard what became of this young
man, knowing Christ, to refuse to obey can only bring shame and
heartache later on.
When Christ indicates our course of action, he may bear long with
our perverse stubbornness or obstinacy, but eventually, if we
persistently refuse, he will leave us to the tender mercies of
the devil.
It is never safe to defy Christ. We may seek repentance for refusing
to obey, and receive forgiveness, but, in all probability, Christ
will bring before us the neglected pathway, inviting us to walk
upon the previously neglected road. If this Methodist youth was
sincere in his religious convictions, in all probability, he is
now working as a missionary.
When His Father chose for Christ the path to follow, it was the
best and only way for him. Similarly, we dare not chose another
way, other then the one marked out for us by Christ for the one
we chose may lead where we would not desire to go and we may not
be able to retrace our steps.
All Christians, myself included, struggle with obedience. God
bears long with us, desiring that we learn the first principals
of faith. His patience is exceeding strong.
Dear brother, if there are things in your life that Christ desires
you to obey, delay not to comply. The price for disobedience is
high while the rewards for obedience are also high.
Could we discern the end from the beginning, and the glory of
the purpose God is working out in our lives, we would not choose
to be lead any other way then he is leading us. Be of good courage,
brother, God loves you fervently and desires only the best for
you. Be strong in obeying every one of God’s commandments
for this is pleasing to him.
May the Lord bless you, your brother in Christ.
Allen A. Benson