obedience school
"For at the preaching of Jonah they reformed, but you have a greater than Jonah here." —Luke 11:32
We are always obeying and disobeying (Rm 6:16). We should be obeying the Lord and disobeying Satan and the world. We should obey God rather than men (Acts 5:29).
However, sometimes we obey mere human authority better than we obey God. For example, if our company transfers us to another city, most of us dutifully obey, leaving behind family members and friends, selling the house, and starting all over. If our doctor tells us to go on a special program of diet and exercise, he usually gets more cooperation than God does. Football players obey their coaches more strictly than Christians obey God.
We Christians, however, have One Who is greater than business, medicine, football, Solomon, or Jonah (Lk 11:31-32). We have Jesus, God Himself. We should sit at His feet and listen to His every word (Lk 10:39). Jesus is the Word (Jn 1:1); we are the hearers. We should "humbly welcome the Word" (Jas 1:21).
The Lord says: "This is the one whom I approve: the lowly and afflicted man who trembles at My word" (Is 66:2). Jesus promised: "My mother and My brothers are those who hear the word of God and act upon it" (Lk 8:21).
Prayer: Father, may I learn obedience from what I suffer (Heb 5:8).
Promise: "It was for liberty that Christ freed us. So stand firm, and do not take on yourselves the yoke of slavery a second time!" —Gal 5:1
Praise: Linda, a young woman, finds it difficult to sometimes obey Jesus in her choice of dress, but, in choosing modesty over style, she has been exalted as a role model for her fellow youth.
Reference: (For related teaching, order our leaflet, Obedience School, or our tape Obeying God on audio AV 62-3 or video V-62.)
Nihil Obstat: Reverend Robert L. Hagedorn, March 30, 2004
Imprimatur: †Most Reverend Carl K. Moeddel, Vicar General and Auxiliary Bishop of the Archdiocese of Cincinnati, April 1, 2004