Obedience
Obedience is not about getting it right or wrong, but about guidance for living in Life. It is about learning to hear the voice, feel the nudge, or respond to the 2by4 in the moments of our day, learning to live in the freedom of self-giving love. It is not about the law of anything and keeping it!
The Yoke
“Come to me, all of you who are weary and over-burdened, and I will give you rest! Put on my yoke and learn from me. For I am gentle and humble in heart and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” (Matthew 11: 28-30 Phillips)
The imagery of the two-person yoke is one of freedom and life. It is the idea of the spy in enemy territory with the hearing device in their ear. You are receiving wisdom and guidance from the one who sees the big picture and is aware of what you are not. It is the beauty of two sharing the load and working together in the task before them. When the Spirit is moving, you get to share in the giving. It is about never being alone but participating in the challenges together.
When the Father was ready to heal, the Son was confident in His actions. Jesus was in the flow with His Father and Spirit in the waterwheel of life. The living water pours in and then out again in the motion of receiving, giving, and then receiving again. This flow is the life of faith and trust where the burden is easy and the load is light.
You are never alone in the yoke, never responsible for making anything happen. It is all a gift from beginning to end. We fight to establish a position and place, and we struggle from our resistance of will. And finally, we rest when our fighting and struggling end in trusting in the One who knows.
Obedience is Meekness
Obedience is the giving of the good that is in Me, the presence of God’s Love, and living the Life as our Divine destiny is Lived!
Humility or meekness, as the King James says it, of Jesus, is not weakness. He is not the shy person in the corner but the creative power of the universe in harness. He is focused and directed by the Father and the Spirit! Jesus does what He sees the Father doing, and He says what He hears the Father saying!
Rest
This rest is not about “truth,” not static information on paper, but “Truth,” a dynamic relationship with Jesus! You do not have to figure out how this works. You just need to slip into the yoke with Him as you follow Him. Jesus is not a distant deity leaving a book for you to follow, but the Creator and Sustainer of all things whispering in your ear, saying, “follow me, for I have come alongside, and together we will discover and live Life together!”
Obedience is the introductory blog for the Sermon below:
This is so good…for many years, obedience for me to what I knew God was saying to/asking me – was ‘white-knuckling-it’, setting my will – NOT from a heart that expected good from the hand of an ever-present, ever-good, ever-loving Father…
MacDonald was not afraid to take the words that religion has highjacked and return them to their original Life and Beauty!