Obedience

“Then Jesus came with them to a place called Gethsemane, and said to His disciples, ‘Sit here while I go over there and pray.’ And He took with Him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, and began to be grieved and distressed. Then He said to them, ‘My soul is deeply grieved, to the point of death; remain here and keep watch with Me.’

And He went a little beyond them, and fell on His face and prayed, saying, ‘My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; yet not as I will, but as You will.’ And He came to the disciples and found them sleeping, and said to Peter, ‘So, you men could not keep watch with Me for one hour? Keep watching and praying that you may not enter into temptation; the spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.’

He went away again a second time and prayed, saying, ‘My Father, if this cannot pass away unless I drink it, Your will be done.’” Matthew 26:36-42

It was the hardest decision he had ever made. Only a telephone call separated him and twenty thousand dollars - illegal and untraceable gain. Thoughts of what he could do with the money ran through his mind. No one would ever know. No one, that is, except God.

As tension grew inside of him, he suddenly found himself recalling the words of his grandfather: “Son, no matter what you do in life, make your goal obedience to God. You’ll never lose by obeying Him, and you’ll never win if you disobey.” A smile crossed his face and tears flushed through his eyes. How could he have allowed himself to be so tempted? Obedience to God’s standards is not always easy. At times it is quite difficult.

The night before the crucifixion, Jesus faced the severest of trials. He was not tempted in a human sense to refuse the Father’s will, but instead was intensely challenged to obey. Obedience was the only way to fulfill the Father’s will, and Jesus chose that way.

The magnitude of the task was overwhelmingly repugnant. Yet in pure and perfect obedience, Jesus took the sins of humanity onto Himself, thus opening a way for eternal salvation. Anything less than perfect obedience is disobedience. Is obedience to God your life’s goal?

“If we are in love with our Lord, obedience does not cost us anything, it is a delight.” -Oswald Chambers