On September 25, 2020, I wrote this little piece about obedience to God.
“I was reading the story of Noah and it made me wonder, could I place my name in the blank. Noah was told to build an ark big enough to foster all living creatures and his entire family for the upcoming flood that would wipe away all wickedness and evil from the earth. “Noah did this; he did all that God commanded him” without question (Genesis 6:22).
Noah didn’t stumble. Noah did as he was told without an ounce of disobedience when building the ark. Throughout the Bible, people obey God, but most lean towards disobedience first. Jonah obeyed God, but not until God sent a fish to swallow him whole. David, a man after God’s own heart, disobeyed God and suffered the consequences of disobedience. Paul obeyed God, you know, once he became Paul. This idea of doing what God wants from us and not questioning it is a foreign idea to most. I know for me, it is. Yes, obeying is much better than doing what I think is best, but how often have I obeyed God without asking a question? How often have I said, Okay, God, I will. We frequently talk about how if God were to ask me to do blank, I wouldn’t second guess it. I would go. But how many have done this? How many of us, I know not me, have said I will, without reluctance.
This simple act of obedience made me start thinking about whether or not I could place my name in the blank, or if any of us could. In reality, we cannot fully obey God, for we are sinful, fallen beings. We will fail, stumble, and mess up. That is a given. There is none, though, whose name can truly be placed in the blank, except Christ. Christ obeyed. “And being found in human form, He humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross” (Philippians 2:8). I’m appreciative today of that fact. The fact that Christ died on the cross for me rose the next day, defeating death. Christ humbled himself to death so we may glorify the Father for eternity. No matter how totally undeserving we are, no matter how many times I disobey, Christ obeyed.