Does obedience matter to God? We will explore that more in a moment. There is a beautiful wildflower native to eastern North America that has the common name of obedience plant (Physostegia virginiana). It blooms in summer with showy, pink, bell-shaped flowers. It resembles foxglove. Each stalk can have ten to twenty flowers in a cone formation. It has a faint odor some describe as mint-like.
Why would a wildflower have a name like obedience? The essence of a wildflower is that it grows when and where it wants and is not subject to the gardener. The obedience plant has an bizarre trait. You can easily bend and manipulate the stem any way you want. When you let go, it stays in that shape. The stems have a malleable quality like wire.
With most plants, if you gently twist the stem, it will return to its original shape as soon as you let go. Not so with the obedience plant. The stem bends to your will and dutifully faces in the direction it is placed when released.
That is the model of obedience Christ left for us. Jesus followed the will of the Father all the way to the cross. God certainly cares about our obedience. He has left plain instructions in his Word on how we are to live and conduct ourselves in this life. God rarely speaks directly to his children to give additional instructions. It is not hard to know the will of God or what he expects of us. To know what God expects is as simple as opening the Bible.
The hard part is following it. The Bible tells us it is impossible for us to be perfectly obedient to the will of God, on our own. Jesus lived a life of perfect obedience following God’s instruction as faithfully as the obedience plant. He did that in our place because we cannot. The Bible promises to make us more like Christ every day we live. God expects us to become more obedient each day we follow him. If we ask God, he will give us the strength to follow his will even when it is hard.
by David F. Garner
Questions to discuss or ponder:
1: What can you do today to show God your desire to be obedient?
2: Does God expect that we will be able to live in perfect obedience here on earth?
3: What does God desire, outward obedience or our desire to submit to his will? Explain.
4. What part does grace play in our obedience to God?
Does obedience matter to God? We will explore that more in a moment. There is a beautiful wildflower native to eastern North America that has the common name of obedience plant (Physostegia virginiana). It blooms in summer with showy, pink, bell-shaped flowers. It resembles foxglove. Each stalk can have ten to twenty flowers in a cone formation. It has a faint odor some describe as mint-like.
Why would a wildflower have a name like obedience? The essence of a wildflower is that it grows when and where it wants and is not subject to the gardener. The obedience plant has an bizarre trait. You can easily bend and manipulate the stem any way you want. When you let go, it stays in that shape. The stems have a malleable quality like wire.
With most plants, if you gently twist the stem, it will return to its original shape as soon as you let go. Not so with the obedience plant. The stem bends to your will and dutifully faces in the direction it is placed when released.
That is the model of obedience Christ left for us. Jesus followed the will of the Father all the way to the cross. God certainly cares about our obedience. He has left plain instructions in his Word on how we are to live and conduct ourselves in this life. God rarely speaks directly to his children to give additional instructions. It is not hard to know the will of God or what he expects of us. To know what God expects is as simple as opening the Bible.
The hard part is following it. The Bible tells us it is impossible for us to be perfectly obedient to the will of God, on our own. Jesus lived a life of perfect obedience following God’s instruction as faithfully as the obedience plant. He did that in our place because we cannot. The Bible promises to make us more like Christ every day we live. God expects us to become more obedient each day we follow him. If we ask God, he will give us the strength to follow his will even when it is hard.
by David F. Garner
Questions to discuss or ponder:
1: What can you do today to show God your desire to be obedient?
2: Does God expect that we will be able to live in perfect obedience here on earth?
3: What does God desire, outward obedience or our desire to submit to his will? Explain.
4. What part does grace play in our obedience to God?
Photo:
Hardyplants at English Wikipedia, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons