obedience

I wish obeying was as easy as brushing teeth. It's not.

I've just finished reading through Matthew, and I've taken some obedience lessons from Jesus. He makes it seem so simple by never disobeying; if only it was.

He gets baptized by his cousin John to "fulfill all righteousness"(Matt 3:15), and as he rises from the water a voice from heaven said "'This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased'" (Matt 3:17) Please note that God the Father was not just pleased, but He was well pleased. Immediately after he was baptized, Jesus was tested in the wilderness. I find it interesting that scripture says that he was "led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil"(Matthew 4:1) Let me be honest, I would never willingly go into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil, would you?! Jesus then proceeds to fast for forty days and forty nights before being tempted by Satan. Still, being secluded and without food, Jesus obeys as he is tempted. Jesus knows that in Deut. 6:13, we are told to " Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only." Jesus does just that as he resists the temptations that are presented before him while reciting scripture. Jesus knew that it He could not try to be obedient by his own strength, but instead used the teachings and the Spirit to guide him as he fought to be obedient. I could continue through all of Matthew and follow how Jesus was obedient, but instead I'll share a song that I believes sums it up pretty well. It's by Brian and Jenn Johnson, and it's called 'Where You Go I Go"

Where You go I go
What You say I say
And what You pray I pray
And what You pray I pray

Where You go I go
What You say I say God
And what You pray I pray

Cause Jesus only did what He saw You do
And He would only say what He heard You speak
And He would only move when He felt You lead
Following Your heart following Your Spirit

So how could I expect to walk without You
When every made that Jesus made was in surrender
I will not begin to live without You
For You alone are worthy and You alone are good

I think it's quite obvious that Jesus only did what God led him to do. John 5:19-20 reads, "Very truly I tell you, the Son can do nothing by himself; he can do only what he sees his Father doing, because whatever the Father does the Son also does. For the Father loves the Son and him all he does. Yes, and he will show him even greater works than these, so that you will be amazed." Just think about that verse aligned with everything Jesus did. It's pretty insane to think about putting that in practice and living it out in my everyday life. It means total surrender of my life, more specifically my time, money, relationships, words, thoughts, and so much more. It means not second guessing, but faithfully following God, knowing that obedience could very well lead me to a situation like Jesus with the cross. It could end ugly.

I believe a broader picture is placed on practicing obedience, as in aiming and planning to practice obedience in the future, not in the here and the now. When I start trying to plan, I miss the opportunities to surrender, obey, and follow His will today.

I want to leave you with a passage that continually intrigues me. The passage is Matthew 26:36-46 and takes place in the Garden of Gethsemane. Jesus goes with his disciples, and once there, distances himself to pray, asking that they do they same and keep watch. Jesus' heart was heavy, " Going a little farther, he fell with his face to the ground and prayed, 'My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will'"(Matt. 26: 39). He not only prays this once, but again saying, "My Father, if it is not possible for this cup to be taken away unless I drink it,may your will be done"(Matt. 26:42). I believe that this is quite possibly the most beautiful thing that I have ever read. You see, it is clear that Jesus was asking that what was about to be done to him be removed from his future. He would have rather something else. Ultimately, living a complete life of obedience, Jesus followed God's will. It lead him to the cross.

All I can do is live today by choosing God's will for my life and surrendering my own. I don't know what He has planned for my life, but today I am choosing to obey His plans, His words, and His will rather than my own.

As I am to live obediently each day, this is what I'll cling to:

Matthew 22: 37-39 "' Love the Lord your God with all you heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: Love your neighbor as yourself.'"


This is only the beginning.