Effects of One Person's Obedience

Effects of One Person's Obedience

Dad: “I’m giving you my credit card but you must use it wisely on the weekend. No foolish spending Jared. Do you need me to give you a list of things I don’t want my card used for?”

Son: “No dad. We’ve all lived with you long enough to know what you like and don’t like. What you think is stupid and what you think is smart. We know you like a book.”

A Friend on Saturday: “Come on Jared. You’ve got your old man’s card. Be generous. If he doesn’t like it, he’ll get over it. So what if he screams at you for an hour. You can handle it!”

After some convincing they checked out the casino and the rest is history!

We struggle with obedience. God gave us the sophisticated ability to exercise our own will. We’re not robots or mechanical devices programmed to respond in only one way. We make choices. We can obey or disobey.

Garden of Eden: “Adam, what will you choose?”

“I will disobey. I want to do my own thing. It looks good to me. I know I’ll like it and it’s what I want right now.”

He never said those words – but he didn’t have to! Actions and behaviour speak so loudly, anything we might say is drowned out. We can say ‘right’ words; use ‘spiritual’ phrases and spin them into impressive sentences and the façade can look really good. But who I really am is seen more clearly in the choices I make and the actions I take each day.

Someone has said: God’s entire will for your life can be written on your thumbnail in a non-microscopic font that’s visible to the naked eye. ‘OBEDIENCE!’

Disobedience? Look around and see its effects. Believe it or not, the mess this world is in is directly linked to the disobedience of just one man. And I shouldn’t kid myself - the ripple effects of my own disobedience go much further than I could ever imagine. The flip side is also true: the ripple effects of my obedience to the Lord will go much further than my eye can see and what I can experience today.

 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)

Meditate on the obedience of that one Man and what blessing His obedience has brought to you. His entire mission to earth could be summed up on His thumbnail: ‘Obedience’. Jesus said: “I do always those things that please Him – (the Father).” John 8:29 His Father’s response? “This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.” Matthew 17:5 The completeness of His obedience is expressed in these mind-boggling words: “He humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.” Philippians 2:8 ESV. The results of His obedience are far reaching and eternal. Bow your head just now and thank Him for His obedience and how it has brought blessing and salvation to you.

But what about the obedience of just one person today? Does it count? Am I obeying the Lord in all spheres of my life? When I read my Bible, do I surrender to what the Lord wants me to do and how He wants me to live? Do I obey in all things or just most things?  I might love singing worship and praise songs but words can be cheap. The true expression of love, worship and praise to the Lord is ‘obedience’ in my life.

Is there still a slice of my life’s pie that I’m keeping for myself? Is there a part of my Bible I try to down-play, rationalize away, pass-over or turn a blind eye to? Those avoidance strategies are nothing less than raw disobedience.

Only eternity will reveal the far-reaching effects of your full surrender and obedience to the Lord. Are you willing to whisper to the Lord just now your surrender and set the wheels in motion to obey Him in that one thing in your life that you’ve been holding out on? Your Christian life will be stunted until you do.