Just Simple Obedience...

Have you ever really thought why we do some of things we do? 

Take for instance the concept of obedience. Why do we teach our children at the very earliest age possible not to...touch the electrical plug. They're certainly not capable of understanding things like what electricity is, how it works, and how harmful it can be on the human body. Instead we emphatically tell them NO, and then thump their hand to get them to understand they are NOT to touch the electrical plug. 

Why is this idea that they should obey by not touching the plug be such a big deal? This seems pretty simple enough: as adults we know that exposure to electricity could bring almost certain death. 

In essence we are trying to save the life of our child by teaching them to obey.

We could use this same scenario when teaching them not to play in the street. You and I understand the dangers of what could happen if they were to chase after a run-away ball without thought of the car coming down down the road. 

An act of simple obedience could save their life one day.

From the time my children could say a few words we immediately began teaching them Ephesians 6:1: Children obey your parents in the Lord for this is right. Verse two follows with: Honour thy father and mother; (which is the first commandment with promise;) And the reason for obeying, the reason for honoring is spelled out in verse three: That it may be well with thee, and thou mayest live long on the earth.

This just proves that things go better when we obey. In fact, our obedience could save our life.

Here's a Biblical example of this same concept. Rahab was living in Jericho at the time that the Jews were entering into the land God had promised them. She was the one responsible for hiding the spies among the stalks of flax on her roof, and she wasn't about to let them go without receiving a promise or token of deliverance for her and her family. This token, a scarlet thread hanging in the same window they had escaped from, would mean salvation for her and anyone who would take refuge in her house when the Israelites came to take the city.

She didn't have to put the scarlet thread in her window; but in this simple act of obedience, she and most of her family were saved from certain death.

And it really was a simple act of obedience. She didn't have to do anything extraordinary...just hang a scarlet thread in the window.

How many times does our Heavenly Father ask from us just simple obedience; and yet we choose to do our own thing? Can we honestly believe that things will be well for us when we can't even obey one of His commands found in His Word? 

Just think how different our world would be if Adam and Eve would have just obeyed God's simple command: don't eat of that one tree. Just one, out of the dozens that surrounded them. And because of their disobedience their life most certainly did not go well for them, and one of their son's lives was cut short.

Let's not complicate obedience. Instead, remember: we show the Lord we love Him by simply obeying Him. If ye love me, keep my commandments. (John 14:15) 

Simply Learning Obedience,