Obedience

We have officially reached our half way point to this season of life in Oaxaca. I have to admit, it makes my heart somewhat sad to know that my time here is coming closer to an end. The Lord has given me a heart for these people and this place as well as a heart for missions. I am so thankful to the Lord for how He has sovereignly brought me to this place and for all the many things He has been teaching me.

One of the main things the Lord has been teaching me the past few weeks is about obedience to Him.  I have been reading in the book of Deuteronomy lately and it’s been so good to be reminded of the holiness of God and the gravity of our sin. He is our Creator and as such He is worthy of complete and utter obedience and praise. And any sin, even what we may consider as seemingly small, is grievously offensive and warrants eternal punishment and separation from Him. I love reading from the Old Testament because it helps me understand these characteristics of God more and reminds me of the weight of my sin. One example I read recently is in Deuteronomy 13:6-11. It says: “If your brother, the son of your mother, or your son or your daughter or the wife you embrace or your friend who is as your own soul entices you secretly, saying, ‘Let us go and serve other gods,’ which neither you nor your fathers have known, some of the gods of the peoples who are around you, whether near you or far off from you, from the one end of the earth to the other, you shall not yield to him or listen to him, nor shall your eye pity him, nor shall you spare him, nor shall you conceal him. But you shall kill him. Your hand shall be first against him to put him to death, and afterward the hand of all the people. You shall stone him to death with stones, because he sought to draw you away from the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.” Wow. On first glance, it seems harsh that it would be deemed necessary for the Israelites to have an active hand in killing their loved ones that were seeking to draw them away from the Lord. But, that is how Holy our God is. He alone is worthy of our obedience and praise. Do you see the gravity of our sin against an infinitely Holy God? Anything that is pulling us away from serving and obeying the One True God is sin and should not be taken lightly. It has reminded me to look at my life and get of rid of things that are hindering my relationship with Him.

Not only have I been reading about how the Lord is worthy of our obedience, but the Lord has been showing me that he uses discipline in order to bring about obedience in our lives. Proverbs is full of verses that show the value and purpose of discipline. Proverbs 13:24 says “Whoever spares the rod hates his son, but he who loves him is diligent to discipline him.” And Deuteronomy 8:5 says “Know then in your heart that, as a man disciplines his son, the Lord your God disciplines you.” Parents discipline their children out of love in order to show them what is a good and right way to behave. In the same way, the Lord loves us and brings us through times of hardship and discipline in order to show us our need for Him and remove sin from our lives. Times of discipline and suffering in my life have often been times in which I have grown the most and have produced an obedient spirit in me. I have learned to praise God for difficult seasons in my life, for He is worthy and He uses these times to sharpen me.

In Deuteronomy 11, we see how the Lord blesses obedience and there are consequences to lack of obedience. Verses 26-28 say “See, I am setting before you today a blessing and a curse: the blessing, if you obey the commandments of the Lord your God, which I command you today, and the curse, if you do not obey the commandments of the Lord your God, but turn aside from the way that I am commanding you today, to go after other gods that you have not known.” We can often see physical/emotional/relational/etc. effects of sin in our lives, but ultimately the result of sin in us is separation from the Lord. In Genesis 3, we see how Adam and Eve were cast out of the garden away from the presence of God as a result of their sin. We see in Romans 6:23 that “the wages of sin is death.” Prior to salvation, we are all dead in sin and deserving of punishment for our sin. That punishment is eternal death - condemnation and separation from our Creator. It is clear from the beginning of scripture that disobedience results in curse. But we see hope in the life, death, and resurrection of Christ. He was obedient when we were not. And He obediently sacrificed His life on our behalf, paying the price we owed for our sin. We deserved death and yet He, the perfect lamb, took all of God’s wrath that we were due upon Himself in order to provide a way for us to be brought back into the presence of God. As believers, when God looks at us, He sees the righteousness and obedience of Christ. It is through Christ alone that we can have communion with God and because of Christ we are free to be joyously obedient to our God. What’s sweet to see is that perfect obedience results in perfect blessing. Philippians 2:8-11 says “And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. Therefore, God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” Christ is perfectly obedient and receives the ultimate reward..eternal exaltation and glory! 

But, obedience isn’t always easy. In fact, it may mean enduring hardship and suffering. Christ Himself endured a shameful death that He didn’t deserve, but He deemed the Father worthy of His obedience and His sacrifice. I recently found myself telling the Lord that something could not happen because it would be hard, and I was soon convicted about it. Who am I to tell the Lord what He can and can’t will for me? If I can most glorify Him by obeying Him and walking through something difficult, then that is what I desire. He is worthy of me enduring hardship if He so chooses to glorify Himself in that way. What an honor it is to identify with my Savior in suffering. And just think about this: as followers of Christ who have been saved by faith, “we are children of God, and if children, then heirs - heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him.” (Romans 8:16-17). How incredible is that!?! By grace we can identify with Christ in obedience, suffering, and glorification! 

So, as I begin the final half of these 4 months in Oaxaca and am unsure of what life will look like next, I am encouraged to know that my identity is in Christ and there is freedom and blessing in obeying whatever He has planned. May He be glorified in and through my life over these next 2 months and whatever is yet to come!