Joy of Obedience
“‘“There you will remember your conduct and all the actions by which you have defiled yourselves, and you will loathe yourselves for all the evil you have done. You will know that I am the LORD, when I deal with you for my name’s sake and not according to your evil ways and your corrupt practices, you people of Israel, declares the Sovereign LORD.”‘”
Today’s Text: Ezekiel 20:33-49 (Living Life Daily Devotional)
Reading Ezekiel is tough. However, Ezekiel gives us a better understanding of how much God hates sin. It’s purpose is to give us a divine loathing of sin too.
Sin itself is pleasing to sinful hearts—at least in the moment. But God wants us to see the devastation that we enter into when we let sin reign in our lives. If sin reigns in our lives, we are not residing in the kingdom of God; we are residing under the curse of sin.
And so, Jesus urges us, “Seek first His kingdom and His righteousness” (Matthew 6:33a). Jesus is urging us to make the pursuit of our devotion to Him the #1 priority of our lives. Am I making the pursuit of my devotion to Christ the #1 priority of my life? Do I understand what it means to make anything the #1 priority of my life?
I learned about what it means to make obedience the #1 priority of my life through basic training, when I entered the Air Force. If I didn’t make obeying my training instructors (TIs) the #1 priority of my life, I would be subject to extreme shaming from my TIs and risk disciplinary action, rejection from my peers, and even a dishonorable discharge.
It was much easier, and even pleasant in a strange kind of way, to obey the TIs to the letter. A flight of recruits learning to obey their TIs to the letter is actually quite a beautiful phenomenon and an incredible experience. How much more so a church community that learns to obey the word of God?
I also learned about what it means to make discipline the #1 priority of my life during my undergraduate, MDIV, and PHD studies. Without pursuing discipline, I risked (1) poor-mediocre grades, (2) outright failure, and (3) waste of a lot of time and money. And of course, there is the shame of failure. I’ve never been one to fear failure, but if the failure is due to my own negligence, then that shame becomes a great learning opportunity.
There are many other ways that people learn about the beauty of obedience and discipline: team sports, work, family, etc.
When we let sin—any sin—reign in our lives, God will discipline us because He loves us (Revelation 3:19). In the end, though, God did not deal with us according to our sin. If God had dealt with us according to our sin, what hope could we possibly have for abundant life, for eternal life?
No. God dealt with our sin for His name’s sake. God dealt with us according to His love, by His grace and mercy, so that we might, through faith in Christ Jesus, be redeemed from the curse of sin (Galatians 3:13-14) and reconciled to God (Romans 5:10).
The challenge that every person faces, especially Christians, is that we find ample emotional, psychological, and cultural support for our disobedience and rebellion in this world—and sadly enough, even in the church.
In a way, one of the most important practices that a church community can develop is “speaking the truth in love” (Ephesians 4:15). In a way, fostering a culture of “speaking the truth in love” has been the primary mission that God has given me as the lead pastor of this community. And that is because “speaking the truth in love” must begin with acknowledging truth.
From my own personal experience, this is what it takes to speak the truth in love: not blindly trusting everything that I think and feel, because I know that I am a sinner, but rather trusting everything that the word of God says.
The last theme that Pastor David gave to us before moving on to Global Mission Church in the ROK was “Live Out the Word of God.” If he had any notion that he was going to move on when he gave us that theme, it just affirms his wisdom. But if he didn’t (which is what I suspect), it affirms God’s wisdom all the more.
Father, Your word is my life. Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path. Teach me obedience, Lord. You have taught me obedience, but I do not take pride in learning what is good for me. Teach my family and this Canvas community the joy of obedience, as well. In Jesus’s name. Amen.
