A 40 Day Journey to Becoming Like the One We Follow
Day 1: Obedience (John 5:19)
Growing up, we were all taught to obey our parents. What a drag, am I right? Why should I listen to them? Why do I have to clean my room? Why do I need to do all these chores? Why do I have to wear these uncomfortable shoes to my cousin's wedding? Why do I have to be home by eleven when all my friends get to stay out until midnight?
But at some point there comes a turn. The guidelines and boundaries begin to make sense. We find ourselves becoming more like our own parents because we have picked up on their mannerisms, attitudes, and values. Obedience takes time to learn. Eventually we find that if we stop fighting back out of our own stubbornness we can begin to see how the rules do make sense.
Jesus was obedient to his Father. Even when he went missing as a young boy, his parents found him in the Temple because he "must be about [his] Father's business." He would obey his heavenly Father above even his earthly parents. His entire mission was predicated on what the Father was already up to. Jesus went where the Father sent him, did what the Father showed him, and spoke what the Father told him.
He became obedient even to the point of death on a cross. Jesus never tried to go rogue or do things on his own accord. Every step was in keeping with the Father's will. Did he do things he didn't want to do out of obedience to God? Yes! But Hebrews reminds us that Jesus learned obedience through the things he suffered.
There is a sense in which obedience brings us into oneness with God. "If you love me," Jesus says, "you will keep my commands." We show we love Christ not just by doing all the things he tells us to do as some rules-based religion. His command is to love God and love others as he has loved us.
May you walk in obedience to God the Father and Christ the Son and keep in step with the Spirit to experience oneness in relationship with God and others.
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