re-learning obedience

in the course of the past week (my only week of sch break, praise God!) i had the luxury of time to meditate and take in the series of happenings/events around me...

lately (read= i am slow), i've come to realise that...

at first glance, the word disobedience conjures up mental images of totalitarian submission to authority, where obedience is a trait that is highly valued back in the days of the Nazi regime, obey the fuhrer and thee will live on, disobey and say hello to extermination in the gas chambers.

Genesis 2:16-17

And the Lord God commanded the man, "You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat of it you will surely die."

the disobedience of adam and eve led them to eat of the fruit of the tree of good and evil. since then, men has trodded on the path of disobedience... leading thyself farther and farther away from God

Romans 5:19

For just as through the disobedience of the one man the many were made sinners, so also through the obedience of the one man the many will be made righteous.

there is no two ways around it. either you obey, or you disobey.

whether we realise it or not, there is always an area of conflict regarding obedience... in the course of our lives, most of us (if not all!), are subject to some kind of authority, and as workers, students and children, we called to be obedient to the ones over us (our superiors, teachers and parents)...

obedience is pretty easy when everything is peaches & cream, just follow the ebb & flow... however, when in an area of conflict (eg, when we know we're supposed to speak out instead of remaining silent, etc), more often than not, we sometimes adopt this position of rather, mindless obedience to avoid potential conflict/punishment with the authorities...

the one thing that i realise is that God never imposes what He wills on us. we have absolute free reign over the choices that we make. that you can be mindlessly obedient but not love God/person/ authority (be it at work/sch/home), but you cannot say you love God and NOT be obedient to what He wills. love and obedience are NOT mutually exclusive entities of their own.

obedience is an act of love akin to what Jesus exemplified on the cross (2thes 5:8) and that when i say i love God but am not obedient to what He wants of me, i am not really being obedient at all.

God, the sovereign one, is always very clear on where He stands, and mostly, it's we who try to play hopscotch bordering on the grey area with truths versus half truths... pretending not to hear Him when He speaks… half hearted obedience versus total obedience

1John2:3-6
We know that we have come to know him if we obey his commands. The man who says, "I know him," but does not do what he commands is a liar, and the truth is not in him. But if anyone obeys his word, God's love is truly made complete in him. This is how we know we are in him: Whoever claims to live in him must walk as Jesus did.

on hindsight, it's absolutely possible to be truly obedient when we consciously seek to align and base our decisions in accordance to what is revealed in His word... like how Jesus did… we recall how Jesus also struggled with what He was called to do and the words that He muttered in the garden "my father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from me, nevertheless, but not as i will, but as thou will" matt 26:39.

recalling the examples of abraham, daniel and mary, true obedience stems out of having tasted and seen the goodness of the Lord (ps 34:8). only when its in accordance with His will, can we muster up some decent courage and step out beyond our comfort level in faith and do what He requires... to do/speak/act in truth.

dear God, i am learning obedience on a whole new level. there are certain areas where I need your grace, more than anything else... shed your light on these areas. help me, this i pray.