The church, however, has fallen into the “Be warm and filled” fallacy. We attempt to “teach” obedience apart from relationship. In fact, obedience cannot be taught apart from relationship, it can only be demanded. Sitting in church listening to the demands of obedience usually results in guilt–a guilt incapable of producing fruit.
A better pattern is the family model. Good parents teach their children to obey in an atmosphere of mutual love and commitment. Fathers and mothers love their children, and children love their parents. Relationship and obedience grow side-by-side. The mutual love between parents and child provide the motivation for discipline from above and effort from below. Healthy families provide examples of obedience. Day-by-day children can witness whether true obedience lives in the household.
New life in Christ means the Father has provided a new family for each of us. We become a part of God’s household. If obedience resides in the house, it becomes a way of life–something for us to enter into, not something imposed from the outside. Obedience becomes the natural response of loving hearts. The family of God becomes the context for learning how to obey. Our obedience helps provide a setting for others to discover the way of life. This is one of the reasons that our obedience is not merely a personal matter. It’s also why some Christian mystics describe God as Father and the church as the mother of our obedience.
Could you be God’s means of grace is someone else’s life? If you respond to the Great Commission by making disciples, the answer is yes.
This article on the obedient life originally appeared here, and is used by permission.
