Palm Sunday: Obey
Obedience is a difficult thing. It goes against our desire for things to go our way, instead of having to follow someone else’s direction, which may not always be our preference. Little children fight against their parents telling them it’s time for their afternoon nap, school children forge their parent's signatures on their exam papers even though they know that they shouldn’t, and as adults we are told that we can make our own rules, and need not take anyone’s advice on how we should live our lives.
There are two kinds of obedience. One that is led by fear and a sense of forced duty, and the other that is led by love and freedom of choice. In Jesus’ most painful moments before his crucifixion, he cried out “Father, if you are willing, remove this cup from me; yet, not my will but yours be done.” (Luke 22:42). Here, we see our Lord showing us what true obedience and submission looks like. Even though every part of his humanity cried out in resistance to the suffering he was to bear, in obedience and humility he chose to submit to the will of his Father.
Obedience requires a foundation of trust and relationship
In my walk with the Lord, I struggled HARD with the call to obedience. It was difficult to submit my choices, my decisions, and ultimately my life to God. (Cue “It’s my life” by Bon Jovi, hah.) There were church teachings that I could not understand and failed to live out as a Christian. The dissonance drove me further away from this call to obedience as I ended up frustrated and feeling like the expectations of the church, and of God, were just too difficult to live out. I felt like a wayward black sheep in a sea of good white sheep that seemed to be doing just fine staying within the confines of the pen.
It was only in being met time and time again with God’s patience and mercy in the face of my rejections, my questions, and my disbeliefs that I relented to the love of God. When you are met with His unconditional love that does not diminish regardless of how you respond, something clicks within you. It’s as if you become overwhelmed with love to the point that you cannot help but desire to love God back.
For me, that transformation was in letting go of my need to understand why I needed to follow God’s commandments. It changed into a desire to follow God’s commandments because they were the desires of the one I loved, my God. Why would I want to displease the one whom I loved and trusted?
“Not my will but yours be done”
Just because we desire to follow God’s commandments does not mean that it is an easy task. Oftentimes, we struggle to let go of things that do not align with what God desires for us. It could be an unhealthy attachment, disordered desires of the heart, or even a false sense of security in material things. Our human nature, weakened by concupiscence, tempts us daily to reject the will of God in the delusion that taking our life into our own hands is the better option. This could not be further from the truth.
I have come to learn that the first step to submitting to the will of God is in the humility of recognising your weakened human state. It is the Holy Spirit that awakens us to the gravity of our sin and disobedience, who opens our eyes to see the path of holiness that can only be made possible if we choose to walk with and not against God. When we choose to disobey and go against God, we are ultimately saying with our lives that we know better. An act of obedience is an admission to our human limitations that says “I do not have all the answers. Please God, have mercy on me, a sinner. Show me the way to live.”
Of course, the use of free will to choose what is not of God will surely lead us straight to our death. It is what we already know the outcome to be. God allows us to choose to follow Him - He does not force you to do what you do not want to do. Obedience is an act of love because it comes from the desire to do what is pleasing to God.
Reflection Questions
What does your relationship with the Lord look like?
Which areas of your life do you struggle to surrender to the will of God?
How is the Holy Spirit inviting you to receive God’s love, and respond to that love by partaking in what he is inviting you to?
Invitation of the Week
This week, be intentional in exercising obedience to God, in both the little & big things. Obedience could look like:
Saying sorry even though you may not feel like it
Honouring a promise
Recognising where we have sinned and reconciling with God
Being prepared and steadfast in prayer in times of trial (Luke 22:39-46)
To love even those who wish us harm (Luke 22:47-51)
Like Joseph of Arimathea, standing firm in his beliefs and faith in God even when all his other council members wanted to crucify Jesus (Luke 23:50-53)