May 2006 

Obedience 

“His mother said to the servants, ‘Do whatever he tells you.’” (John 2:5)

Not too long ago I preached a sermon on the concept of justification and sanctification. In short, this has to do with the tension that exists in the life of a believer between knowing with certainty that we are going to spend eternity with Jesus, not based on any merit or worthiness in ourselves (Justification), and yet striving to live God pleasing lives of obedience (Sanctification). We must be careful neither to confuse the two nor to let one obscure the other. They are both biblical and true. Since, as Lutherans, we seem to well understand justification, let's spend a minute discussing obedience.

The Bible verse from John chapter 2 that appears above summarizes things pretty well. Simply put, what Jesus’ mother Mary said to the servants at the wedding at Cana, the Bible makes clear to us as well: "do whatever he tells you." Does that strike you as extreme? We must admit that this statement requires blind obedience. In our culture, we don't like obedience. We like to think for ourselves – even if we know that our own choices cause us many headaches. Americans have gone a long way to protect our right to choose. Furthermore, doing what someone tells you to do, regardless of your own opinion or preferences, requires a lot of trust (Proverbs 3:5-6). In our day and age, people don’t trust easily. We have too often been let down or hurt when we trust. We must ask ourselves, though, who better to trust than God? There is no one who knows us better, loves us more, is more aware of what will work for our good and has more power to work in our lives than God. If you struggle with obedience to God, then you must ask yourself, "Do I trust Him?"

There's one more thing that comes with obedience to the Lord. And that's peace. So much of our time on this earth is spent in fruitless striving after worldly things and after our own ambitions. Not only does the search for these things exhaust us, but when we are "fortunate" enough to achieve them, they never seem to provide the happiness we are looking for. God actually knew this about us. That's how he made us. We have an innate desire and need to serve God – nothing else can take its place. You may have tried. And if you have, you know that this is true: it is only in fulfilling the role God has prepared for you that you will find true happiness. It is only in obedience to his commands that you will find peace. May the Holy Spirit guide you in all righteousness.

In His name,

Pastor Augie