Obedience.

Eden,

Obey. A humbling command that any child has to wrestle with. The bending of the will to another who has your good in mind, whether or not you can comprehend that good at the time. This is where the rubber meets the road, where what you say you believe turns in to flesh and blood action in actual context. Do you obey? Then you really believe. To you disobey? Then you doubt who God says He is.  

The battleground is mostly in your mind, in your heart, in your soul. God is good. There is a flesh enemy inside you that will fight that statement in you every single day. If you soak in His love and goodness toward you every day, if it’s tangible to you, you will find obedience vastly easier. 

There are intoxicating worldly songs sung in culture that blur your spiritual sight and muddle your listening for love. Take the cold shower of the Word when you cannot think clearly. 

When you have walked together with God for some distance you will have experience as your teacher as well -- how His goodness and mercy have truly followed you all the dark and beautiful days of your life. Proclaim His goodness to the difficulty of obeying in front of you and you will find your will melting. 

Sometimes you will struggle with obedience like Jacob, your rebellious flesh wrestling with God the King. Putting the ugly side of your will on the altar for a living sacrifice -- what a pleasing thing to our Heavenly Father, who can then “trade our trash for treasures” as they say.

I have seen the dangers of not obeying. People in God’s family circles who live shameless sin and trample the very Son of God. They think somehow they have a ticket of forgiveness that allows their terrible distance from God’s rules for His household. Terrible is the wrath of God on those who belittle His Son’s precious sacrifice, dragging His Name through the mud, leaving a bad taste in the world’s mouth for Christ-followers.   

There really is no such thing as two-faced spirituality or riding the fence. An active life of willful disobedience is not a Christian life. The faithful, too, fall to be sure, sadly, pitifully, shamefully; it is not perfect obedience that brings you to Christ. Christ comes for sinners. But when Christ has touched someone, they develop a deep distaste for the rubbish they used to crave.  They cry out in their deepest center for the Spirit to work in them a heart that follows hard after God and to produce in their hearts a delight in following God’s laws. For there is the real freedom. 

You want to be like your momma, and your momma wants you to be like Jesus. Holiness is to look like Him inside in a way that flows outside. Christ is holy. He won’t be with active unholiness; if you say no to God, if you stiff-arm Him -- you are at a stand still  with your Creator.  He won’t gloss over your behavior and tell you it’s ok. He stops talking, stops growing, stops working for you -- and starts working against the idol in your life. Those are scary days, when He will do whatever it takes to bring you back to Him. He is the greatest Enemy of all, in front of which none can stand. 

Do not be deceived little one. Do not forget the grave await us all. Live in light of that day. Many bear the Name, but many of these will not be recognized by Him, by the impartial Judge who sees all things.  Jesus requires all of you; in turn He gives you all. Just as in a strong marriage, there is a possessing of the other in every way -- this is Christ’s call on His precious bride. He loves her too much to let her destroy herself so He makes good laws to follow. If you are not an obeyer as a habit in the hard things, child, you are not led by the Spirit -- and with no Spirit you cannot call yourself one of Christ’s. 

You can trust Him. His rules weren’t meant to be broken; they were meant for fullness of life and rewards here and to come. He has wonderfully good things for you and He wants to make you wonderfully good. Your obedience delights His heart and brings the warmth of familial joy. Walk this path along with me, Eden, the path of His love.

Love,

Momma

“God is always good. 

And you are always loved” -Ann Voskamp