Previous Challenge Entry (Level 1 – Beginner)
Topic: Obedience (01/31/05)
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TITLE: How Can I? | Previous Challenge Entry
By Joanna Collins
02/07/05 -
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“Now a man came up to Jesus and asked, ‘Teacher, what good thing must I do to get eternal life?” (Mat.19:16, NIV)
I can see this man in a Boy Scout uniform ready to help an old lady cross the street. He is willing to do what he must, to an extent. The Bible goes on with his story:
“Why do you ask me about what is good?’ Jesus replied. ‘There is only One who is good. If you want to enter life, obey the commandments.’
‘Which ones?’ the man inquired. Jesus replied. ‘Do not murder, do not commit adultery, do not steal, do not give false testimony, honor your father and mother, and love your neighbor as yourself.’
‘All of these I have kept,’ the young man said, ‘What do I still lack?’
Jesus answered, ‘If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. The come, follow me.’
When the young man heard this, he went away sad, because he had great wealth.”
(Mat. 19:18-22, NIV)
The question is simple, and it has a simple answer that is hard to swallow, so we make it difficult.
Every Christian can say they love Jesus with all their hearts, but Jesus says:
“Whoever has my commands and obeys them, he is the one who loves me. He who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love him and show myself to him.” (John 14:21, NIV)
If we love Jesus, why is obedience so hard? We are in one body composed of three parts, our spirit which is the breath of God or our Godly being that is our Heavenly warrior, our flesh, which encompasses all you see that desires things that are good only for the flesh and have no spiritual value, and our soul which is who we are, and the one that will stand at judgment before God. The spirit and the flesh are in constant battle for our soul.
How do we win, or how do we become obedient to God and give Him rule over our lives? The answer lies in the basic law of nature, “Only the strong survive.” We must make our spirit stronger than our flesh. To make any living being strong we must feed it. Likewise, to make our spirit strong we must feed it with the word of God, prayer, and love of our Godly family. Our flesh on the other hand feeds only from sin. When we read and follow the word of God, pray, and fellowship with our Godly family, we then feed our spirit which grows stronger and eventually overtakes the flesh. Then it becomes easier to ignore the flesh and obey God.
Even though our spirit is strong our flesh will be a part of us and it may win out at times, but obedience is not difficult. God assures us:
“This is love for God: to obey his commands. And his commands are not burdensome, for everyone born of God overcomes the world. This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith.” (I John 5:3, NIV)
“Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and obey it.” (Lk. 11:28, NIV)
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