Obedience has always seemed so burdensome, and when it comes to the modern day church, conversations around the love, grace, and mercy of God echoes consistently. However, when it comes to the standards and righteousness of God there seems to be a hesitation and dilution of the gospel. The sacrifice of Christ doesn’t minimize our call to make the conscious decision to obey the will of God and to put to the death the desires of our flesh. The death of Jesus Christ empowers us and provides us with spiritual life in which we can live as inheritors of the Kingdom.
“But now Christ has risen from the dead, and has become the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. For since by man came death, by Man also came the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ all shall be made alive.”
Through Christ we are given a chance at everlasting life! According to Romans 6:23, the wages of sin is death, and without the sacrifice of Christ, we would have to pay for those sins and our sentence was death. Now that we have the ultimate sacrifice, the blood of Jesus Christ speaks for us and vindicates us. Understanding the beauty and depth of this gift is very imperative.
“For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” Romans 6:23
During this period as we reflect on the sacrifice of our savior, I urge us all to check our heart posture towards the grace and mercy that we have received through the death of Christ. Do we view the death of Christ as a loophole to continue to strive in sin and do as we please?
The life and death of Christ demonstrates the power of submission and obedience to the will of God. As believers, we are called to be set apart through the process of sanctification so that we can be vessels of honor, sanctified, useful to the Master, and prepared for every good work (2 Timothy 2:20).
In Matthew 26: 36-45, in the garden of Gethsemane we see a powerful scene where Jesus asks if the cup could be removed from Him. He was anxious and sorrowful as He was aware of the task that God had placed in front of Him, however He decided to yield to the will of God and said, “Let your will be done.”
In between those interactions, Jesus kept urging the disciples who followed him to stay awake as he prayed. Every time they would fall asleep, Jesus would ask why they couldn’t stay up with him during His time of deep need, this deeply concerned Jesus. As Jesus asked God if there was another way for things to be done (without Him having to die a painful death), but when He looked at the weakness of the disciples, he yielded to the plan of God. Jesus understood that the whole salvation of humankind relied on His obedience in that moment. Through His ‘Yes’, men would be given the strength to overcome the flesh.
Just like Jesus, many of us have been called to make sacrifices to serve others. Your obedience to the will of God isn’t just about you. Jesus understood His whole life mission wasn’t about ego or being a superhero; it was about being the bridge between God and man. Jesus died for everyone, including those who would never accept Him. His focus was to do the will of the Father. Your obedience impacts the lives of others, people may never know your name but their lives will be impacted by your yes (or no).
I wonder if Adam and Eve knew that through their disobedience the whole world will be in its current state today, would they have given in to temptation and disobeyed God? Where would we all be if Jesus decided to give up and disobey God? The very intricacies of our lives have been greatly impacted by people we have never physically met before!
There are souls and generations unborn counting on your ‘yes’, no matter how small the task or how fearful the journey may be. Remember that obedience to God isn’t only about you. Every choice matters.
“For as by one man’s disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous.” Romans 5:19
