Everybody works for someone. From the farm laborer to the corporate CEO, there is a reporting structure, a pecking order. Even for those who are independently wealthy, the laws of the land have ultimate control. Freedom must always be regarded within the context of the world around you. How we handle obedience determines how we experience freedom.
King Edward VIII (1894-1972) said, “The thing that impresses me most about America is the way parents obey their children.” When societal obedience gets convoluted, the world takes notice. Children are, or should be, taught obedience. What they are seldom taught, however, is the importance of obedience. They only learn that disobedience brings punishment. While punishment is necessary to clear thinking, it should never be the result of anger or disappointment. A positive, willing response should always be the goal.
The greatest attribute of free will is the freedom to disobey. That may sound strange on the surface, but without such freedom true obedience is worthless. Civil disobedience is a peaceful resistance to unfair laws. It comes with a price. It seeks fairness and justice from a higher source.
Obedience is recognized on two levels. Man to man, and man to God. Isn’t it true that the most powerful man on earth must someday answer to his Maker? No. He must answer now. He has always been told (by God) what to do, or not do, in order to make his life righteous.
Why do we always regard obedience as weakness? Disobedience out of pride imprisons us, stifles us and keeps us stressed. Obedience out of love frees us; we can breathe. It makes us stronger. Professional race car drivers, in general, don’t get traffic tickets. They obey the rules of the road, knowing that they could break them better than the average citizen. Martial arts experts, as well as professional boxers, don’t go around picking fights. They know their skill and strength, but choose to obey the rules of self-defense and fair play.
God’s laws have always been written in our hearts. His Spirit has always whispered in our ear. But he wants us to freely choose to obey, because that is how he made us. So why don’t we? As we move through life we encounter stimuli of all sorts. Much of how we receive it is learned behavior. We can choose to teach good or evil. This is where Satan’s role lies.
He’s the Chief Advocate of disobedience — not only to God, but to each other. He too has a spiritual realm from which he and his followers operate, putting doubt in our minds, inciting us to hatred, binding us with fear. I can’t prove it, but I believe that Satan was created to obey and will someday return to his place as a pure child of God. God is using him at this time to discipline us. Obedience that is not tested is no obedience at all.
Choosing to obey perfectly is willing the will of God. Jesus said, “If anyone loves me, he will obey my teaching. My Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him.” (John 14:23) All of Jesus’ teaching, which comes from God, involves interaction with fellow human beings. “… whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven …” (Matthew 18:18) The kingdom of God consists in right relationships.
Choose to obey. Only then can you be free.
That he existed is of little dispute. The most overwhelming evidence is found in the New Testament writings, a collection of eyewitness accounts and letters concerning him. The fact that these documents were hand-copied over 5,000 times and disseminated throughout the Roman Empire so quickly is short of amazing.
Who he was, and is, is an entirely different matter. Interpretation of those writings is open-ended and has been addressed by Biblical scholars and lay people for centuries. Many rely on the Greek texts of the earliest known copies; others consider the teachings of the early church fathers, like Origen and Augustine. Still others will simply accept the “truths” rendered by those with the right credentials, be they scholars, teachers or preachers, assured of the fact that God’s Holy Spirit has confirmed the truth in them.
Finally, there are folks who trust that God ensured that the recorded events of Jesus’ teachings and actions have been translated properly into our language, and that the basic structure has been preserved down through the ages. They just want to read it, process it and follow it, using that old God-given noodle, common sense. Having been down the previous roads for many years, I find myself now in this last category.
Don’t get me wrong. I’m not about to throw the baby out with the bath water. I believe that all interpretations are valuable for consideration. I find my greatest learning comes from discussing what words, phrases and passages mean with other believers who, over time, have “read up” on these matters. However, I’m not so quick to accept an idea as truth because a person heads up a 5,000-person congregation, is top professor at a theological seminary or has a string of letters behind his or her name. And I also don’t believe that a plethora of scholars makes the truth any more truthful.
Abraham Lincoln said, “The good lord must have loved the common man, since he made so many of them.” Makes sense. There is a place for leaders and teachers. But the rest of us make up the fabric of humanity. It would seem good and proper that God would proclaim his truth in the simplest of terms and write it on our hearts. Lincoln also said, “When I do good, I feel good; when I do bad, I feel bad, and that is my religion.” That pretty much hits the mark, in my opinion.
So, who is Jesus? From his own testimony, he’s God’s son. I can accept the fact that God planted him in Mary’s womb, so that he would have a human body, for whatever purposes a baby, toddler and teen Jesus would serve. I’m equally OK with him just showing up at John the Baptist’s beach party unannounced, with no earthly lineage, yet still having a human body.
We measure a man’s genuineness by what he says, supported by what he does. Jesus’ words certainly make sense, and the eyewitnesses claim that he lived what he taught. He went through what we call death with the same truth on his lips. And since he was God’s son, and since God can do anything, why couldn’t Jesus shake off those grave clothes to prove to those same eyewitnesses that death has no hold on us? But if all we have is the words themselves, then his own assertions are proof enough for me, because they make sense, they encourage me, and they give me peace. That’s other-wordly, as far as I’m concerned.
He says that we share the same heavenly father, which would imply that he too was a created being, making him our elder brother, since he’s lived a lot longer. Sure, he’s perfect, and we’re not. But he promises that some day we will be. Now this trinity thing just doesn’t track. That he’s actually God, dressed up like Jesus, and has conversations with himself, like he’s two different beings, but not really. How can you trust someone who plays word games with your mind? In order to truly embrace him, I’ve got to take him at his word. He says he has a heavenly Father, and I believe him.
Because he’s perfect, and I’m not, I regard him as my lord and master to teach me the things of God. And such things are confirmed by the Holy Spirit, who may or may not necessarily be another created being, but rather a spiritual energy, emanating from both Father and Son, for the working of our own perfection.
Jesus’ teaching was probably not new. God has been inspiring men to promote and record his message for ages. It just got muddled up a lot with their own take on what they thought how God would want them to explain it, like we can’t figure it out for ourselves. So Jesus came to give us the original quotes verbatim and show us how it fits into our daily lives. A message so simple that people from all stations of life have consistently stumbled over it.
Why believe in Jesus? Because he believes in you. His Father made you. And loves you. And will continue to love you, even if you have trouble believing. And he knows that you will someday see him face to face, when all things will be made clear. He’s got time on his side. Eternity, actually.
