My siblings and I were huddled up in my parents’ living room, having the time of our lives. We were unhinged, throwing jabs at each other as we reminisced on our childhood.
We intermittently burst into gales of laughter, causing our kids to abandon their play altogether and come peer suspiciously at us.
Then Dad received a call. “Yes, we are home, you are welcome to pop in,” he assured the caller.
We shifted in our seats, a tad disappointed that our “happy hour” had ground to a halt. Granted, it was Christmas, and impromptu visitors were expected.
“David (not real name) is passing by,” Dad announced.
“Who? What? Why? How? No way!” We objected.
None of us could believe that David would dare pop into our house, let alone give Dad a call.
A few months earlier, he had outrightly disrespected him, and the news had stung us all.
My parents were silent as we tried to devise ways of ensuring David wouldn’t set foot in our house.
In his soft but firm voice, Dad asked us to stop the charade. He was willing to see him and assured us that he had long forgiven him.
It was not easy for me to wipe off the grimace plastered on my face as I said hello to David. I could also tell my sister was green around the gills as she offered him a cup of tea.
Dad had compelled us to swim upstream, and it felt downright torturous. Emptying an ocean with a teaspoon appeared much easier.
When David was gone, we sat in silence, whipsawed between fury and bewilderment.
“How does dad do it?” I sighed.
Then Dad opened his Bible and read a familiar scripture.
“You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy. But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you.”(Mathew 5:43-44).
I sure knew that scripture by heart, but obeying it in the face of a grave offense made every fiber of my being revolt.
The Master of Controversies
Jesus almost always went against the flow, much to the chagrin of many. He said and did things that made the religious leaders of the day froth at the mouth.
As if claiming to be God was not enough, He healed on the Sabbath, dined with sinners, forgave sin, whipped businessmen, and even entrusted his money box to a thief.
He was also not short of piercing vocabulary, especially for the Pharisees and Sadducees.
He referred to them as hypocrites, blind guides, brood of vipers, white-washed tombs, evil, etc
He had one aim. One purpose. One focus.
To do the will of His Father.
“My food, said Jesus, is to do the will of him who sent me and to finish his work.” (John 4:34)
He therefore obliterated every obstacle on His path of obedience.
Nothing was going to stand between Jesus and His mission.
Because nobody understood the weight of His assignment like He did.
No one knew the pulse of His father’s heart like He did.
No one understood its ebb and flow in the rhythm of love.
How it ached for mankind and longed for reconciliation.
He was going to bring this salvation home by hook or crook.
His resolve was stronger than death.
He defied any legalistic tradition that threatened to derail Him, leaving a trail of damage in His wake.
He was rejected, misunderstood, hated, mocked, opposed, humiliated, tortured, falsely accused, and denied.
But that’s a price He was willing to pay.
Leading up to His crucifixion, his humanity sought to deter Him.
With the sins of the world atop His shoulders, He was overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death.
He could have ducked out of the divine arrangement if He wished. But still, he trudged on.
As Sweat mingled with blood pooled at his chin, He inched forward and chose surrender.
“My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will.” (Luke 22:42)
He demonstrated to us that heeding the Father’s will is not a walk in the park. It will often be arduous, painful, gruelling, even deadly.
It will be hard, especially on days that end with “Y”.
Death to Self
Jesus didn’t for a single moment romanticise what it meant to follow Him.
He brought the hefty price involved to the fore.
The death to self.
- “Then Jesus said to His disciples, ‘If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me” (Mathew 16:24).
- “If anyone comes to Me and does not hate his father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, and his own life also, he cannot be My disciple” (Luke 14:26).
- Then He said to another, ‘Follow Me.’But he said, ‘Lord, let me first go and bury my father’. Jesus said to him, ‘Let the dead bury their own dead, but you go and preach the kingdom of God’”.(Luke 9:59-60)
- “And another also said, ‘Lord, I will follow You, but let me first go and bid them farewell who are at my house. But Jesus said to him, ‘No one, having put his hand to the plow, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God’”. (Luke 9:61-62)
Jesus painted the worst-case scenario for His aspiring followers so they would fully grasp the width, height, and depth of surrender.
The apostle Paul got it.
He understood every nuance of surrender. He took a whiff of it and, without batting an eye, boldly declared:
“But what things were gain to me, these I have counted loss for Christ. Yet indeed I also count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as rubbish, that I may gain Christ.” (Phillipians 3: 7-8)
There was nothing Paul wouldn’t happily trash if it stood between Him and Christ.
On the other side of Obedience
Though obedience will often be harrowing, life awaits on the other side.
Consider Daniel. With the threat of being thrown into the lion’s den hanging over his head, he still chose obedience.
Unfazed, he continued praying to his God three times a day, even flinging his windows open while at it.
In the end, slack-jawed at Daniel’s mighty deliverance, the King issued a decree – Daniel’s God was to be revered and worshiped as the true God.
The gruelling path of obedience culminated in life and honor for Daniel, not in the jaws of hungry lions.
Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego chose the fiery furnace over bowing to the king’s golden image.
In the end, the very King who had made the outrageous decree stood in awe of their God and commanded that He be honored.
All three of them were also promoted to higher positions.
Noah, too, must have appeared deranged as he clinked, hammered, and scraped, building the ark.
Tongues wagged as he rounded up his family and pairs of animals into the mammoth ark.
But in the end, he and his family were preserved.
Jesus obeyed to the point of death. As a result, God highly exalted Him and gave Him the name which is above every name (Philippians 2:8-9).
While obedience may be harrowing, it leads to life.
The seemingly easy path of disobedience glides all the way to destruction.
Unfortunately, hordes of people choose the easy path. The narrow, craggy path is awfully unpopular.
“Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and few find it. (Mathew 7:13-14)
Final Thoughts
Choosing obedience will often cause you to stick out like a sore thumb as you trudge the narrow, arduous path.
Some people may even wonder if you have lost your marbles.
What’s more? Sometimes the instruction you receive from God will be deeply personal.
Not a single soul may understand what you are onto.
But you must choose to please God, not man.
You must straighten your spine, steel your heart, and forge ahead.
Remember that your obedience will eventually culminate in life, not destruction.
Comments (0)