Full obedience is more than talk . . .

 

READ: John 13-16

In the list of spiritual gifts from Romans 12, study shows that the gift of teaching is a motivation to gather information so it can be shared with others. Teachers want the truths of God to be known and this reading from John  shows that Jesus is the Master Teacher. In my red-letter Bible, this section is almost entirely red as Jesus teaches His disciples (and me) about living by faith.

The down-side about the spiritual gift of teaching is that those who have it tend to gather information and pass it on as if that is all they must do to be obedient. This is an error. If God teaches me something (and He does every day) sharing it in my blog or with those around me is not enough; I’m supposed to also obey what He says.

When he had washed their feet and put on his outer garments and resumed his place, he said to them, “Do you understand what I have done to you? You call me Teacher and Lord, and you are right, for so I am. If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet. For I have given you an example, that you also should do just as I have done to you. Truly, truly, I say to you, a servant is not greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him. If you know these things, blessed are you if you do them. (John 13:12–17)

The blessing is not in telling everyone else to do this, but to do it myself. God wants others to know this truth, but not at the expense of my neglect. Besides, who listens to anyone who does not follow their own advice or do what they tell others to do?

Out of this passage in John, the specifics are clear: I’m to love others as Jesus loved me, not just tell them about it. If I love Jesus, I’m to show it by keeping His commandments, not merely telling others what they are supposed to do.

“If anyone loves me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him. Whoever does not love me does not keep my words. And the word that you hear is not mine but the Father’s who sent me.” (John 14:23–24)

Being a teacher can lead to a false pride, the pride of ‘knowing’ all sorts of things, but I know from experience that “knowledge puffs up” — but “love builds up” and a love for God is seen in the obedience of what I do, not in the amount of knowledge that I have. Not only that, loving obedience produces deep joy whereas sharing truth has no such guarantee.

If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in his love. These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full. (John 15:10–11)

Jesus says I need to ask the Father. He will give me what I need and in receiving answers from Him, my joy will also be full. Lord, today I need from You a deeper desire to put to practice all that You have taught me, not just so I can be joyful but so Your love can be shared in deeds as well as words. Be quick to bring to my attention those times when I should be doing something that You have told me instead of merely telling others about it, as if sharing it is the only obedience necessary.

 

What to do when?

When I go on Pinterest to look at art quilts or anything else that inspires me to make my own quilts, the array and number of beautiful items can be overwhelming —  I need to remember that I can make only one of them at a time. That is doable; a long list of ‘I want to try this’ soon becomes discouraging!

Isn’t this the same with the commandments of God? The Bible says obedience the test of whether or not I love Him. But Jesus tell me that I must keep all of them. Impossible. How can I determine what to do when?

Jesus answered him, “If anyone loves me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him. Whoever does not love me does not keep my words. And the word that you hear is not mine but the Father’s who sent me. (John 14:23–24)

The commandments can be as overwhelming as too much creative inspiration. Even the list of ‘do unto one another’ in the New Testament can produce in me a deep sense of inadequacy — if I forget that I can only obey them one at a time!

At any given moment, I can do all things? Right now, the command of God is that I should desire His Word, read it, consider what He says. I can do that right now. However, feed the poor, visit the sick, preach the gospel, take care of the homeless, minister to widows and children, and so forth — I cannot do all that right now; I’d need to clone myself.

Obedience is never about me deciding what I should do at any given moment anyway. It is about paying attention to the Word of God and Holy Spirit and doing what He points out to me as: ‘this is it, do it right now.’

Elizabeth Elliott was asked how she managed her time. She is a speaker, author, and ambassador for Christ, plus a normal person with the usual responsibilities of life. She said, “I do the next thing. You always know what it is, the next thing.”

This has been an important and helpful guide for me. The next thing is often loud and clear. I’ve been in the grocery store, picked up most or all the items on my list when I hear ‘go home’ and know that is the next thing. I’ve been at home and finished my to-do list when some chore pops in as the next thing, or ‘phone someone’ or some other action pops to mind.

This works in conversation too. Not every thought that comes into my head needs to be expressed, but the Holy Spirit makes clear that when He wants me to say something, I know that whatever it is becomes the ‘next thing’ and I must say it.

Is this inner voice ever wrong? Not very often, but if that happens, it is because it is from a personal desire or agenda rather than me waiting on the Lord’s guidance and Him giving it. If I go ahead and in error or selfishness do whatever I thought was the next thing, the weight of conviction descends on my confidence. I feel guilty, annoyed with myself, sorry for jumping ahead of the Holy Spirit. Figuring out what has happened might take a while, but if I’m honest with myself, it usually does not take long.

^^^^^^^^^

Jesus, I like how Tozer says that the “final test of love is obedience” not emotions, willingness to sacrifice, or zeal, but obedience to Your commandments. You are teaching me that the distinctive sound of Your voice will never ask me to take on more than one thing at a time, but to obey the next thing. Life has become a whole lot less complicated because of this simple truth.