There’s Something About Obedience

This morning a few of us were praying before the church service, and  there was a single, unexpected word that was repeating over and over in my head.

Obedience.

I can’t say I’m a fan of the word. In our culture, this word carries significant weight. Especially in Christian circles. When I think of obedience, the first thing I think of is religious obligation. “Well, God said it, that means I have to do it, and its probably going to suck.” Can I get a witness?

Anyway, the more I was thinking about it, God started to open my heart up a little bit. He started to break down the needlessly stupid definition I had given that word. The more I dug into it, I realized there’s something about obedience. Something that’s so…beautiful.

Think about it: God is good. God desires only good things for His people. So if God commands something of me, if God asks me to do something, it’s only for the greater good right? Either for me, or for others. No matter what, it’s going to be glorifying to Him. It may not be pretty. Or convenient. Or logical for that matter. But one thing’s for certain—God is sovereign, and if it’s from Him, then it’s GOOD.

So I’m starting to look at obedience a little differently. It’s not some religious concept of being some robot of some impersonal deity. It’s God inviting us to turn around and take a step in the direction of goodness, and us accepting the invitation. It’s a choice on our part to move in the direction of His perfect will.

In John 14, Jesus even talks about how obedience out of love for Him yields not only more love, but more revelation from the Holy Spirit. So in the way I see it, true obedience should bring nothing but love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.

And I’m definitely cool with that.