Obey My voice, and I will be your God, and you shall be My people. And walk in all the ways that I have commanded you, that it may be well with you.
Jeremiah 7:23
Since the start of this year, God has put the word obedience on my heart. As I’ve navigated through my role of training-up my two children with God’s word, understanding and applying biblical obedience has been a challenge to say the least. While every parent yearns for their children to be compliant and obedient, what God has been revealing to me is that I need to be modeling what true obedience to God looks like for them first and foremost.
So what is biblical obedience and why is it important?
Biblical obedience is a loving response to submit to God’s authority and serve him out of the love He demonstrated for us on the cross. Obedience, much like sanctification, is a process of continual growth. As our love and understanding of Jesus deepens, our heart posture will align more and more with Christ. This will be reflected in humble action and dying to oneself in order to give God the glory.
As obedient children, do not conform to the evil desires you had when you lived in ignorance.
1 Peter 1:14
Over the past few months, He has called me into a deeper relationship to fully know who He is, trust who He is, and submit to his authority and will for my life. This has taken the form of stepping out of my comfort zone and stretching me to trust his leadings into various volunteer work and leadership roles. Through prayer, discernment and an understanding that obedience is a loving desire to obey Christ and serve Him, I was able to faithfully step into the new roles that God was calling me to.
During this time, my perspective of how I had been trying to teach and instill obedience in my children has shifted. Where I had been focused on a legalistic approach to obedience for obtaining outward compliance, I realized I was more interested in earning salvation for my children than demonstrating Christ’s love and forgiveness to them. As I was reminded that we are saved by grace alone through Christ’s work on the cross and not by our own work or our own keeping to a set of rules, I was able to extend grace to my children and focus on my own heart. By examining my own relationship with the Lord and allowing the Holy Spirit to work in and through me, I am beginning to lovingly model what biblical obedience looks like.
Let us make room for the Holy Spirit to direct our steps, so that we can lovingly follow and obey God’s will for our lives to bring glory to his name!
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