Teach them to obey

I feel very blessed. I believe that our Church has one of the world's best Pastors. In his sincere humility he would cringe at hearing those words, but here's why I think so: Outside of being an outstanding Bible teacher, he loves God with all his heart, mind, soul and strength, he is fully committed to making disciples based on the truth of Scripture, and he loves people more deeply than anyone I've ever met. But that's not the point of this post. I was traveling over the weekend and was privileged to hear another wonderful Pastor give a great message.

I have a heart for obedience. I strive to be obedient to God in all ways (hear me well, I fall short all the time) and desire to teach others to obey all that He has commanded (Matthew 28:20). In my role as a teacher, obedience is a point that I hit on time and time again. So, when the topic of obedience came up during the message, my ears perked up.

As we live out obedience in our own lives, we can become "ritualistic" or act as the Pharisees acted. For them, obedience was a hefty weight, a burden, and a task that could never be accomplished. It is impossible to follow all commands simultaneously. We are wretched, fleshly humans and most of us can barely touch our feet to the floor in the morning without falling short of pleasing God in some way (slight exaggeration, I know).

So how do we teach disciples to do the impossible? We live life together alongside them. We live it out and talk it through when we fall short. We lean on one another, and we admit our frailty and shortcomings to our brothers and sisters in Christ. Being a teacher -standing at the front of the classroom - doesn't make me less of a sinner than anyone else, it makes me more visible! That can be a frightening position, but I'm grateful for a group of ladies who laugh with me, not at me, and hold me accountable when necessary. It's a life journey and I'm thrilled to be part of a loving Body of believers.

Yes, I feel very blessed.

"Abba, Father"

Watching my grown children hurt is like having my heart ripped out. The complexity of what is bringing them pain is unimportant, because when I see them suffering over any issue, I simply want to cry. The irony is that I want God's blessing for both of them and I realize that as children of God, we all have to experience times of suffering in order to grow in Him. I would never want them to miss His blessing. In turn, I fully understand that times of suffering are necessary and will be turned to good by our faithful Father. As I watched my son struggle a week ago I prayed, "Lord, have your way with him... but please be gentle, " then cried the hidden tears of a loving Mom who could do very little to help.

Since we are God's children, I wonder how God feels when he sees us hurting. Let's look at Jesus, God's only begotten Son, as an example. He is described in Mark chapter 14 as "very distressed and troubled" in the garden just before His arrest. In prayer, Jesus cried out to the Father, calling Him "Abba." This is an Aramaic word for "Papa." When Jesus was suffering, He called out to His "Papa," His loving Father who is caring, gentle and compassionate.

A "Papa" can be thought of as a father who comes to his child when called, stands alongside during times of distress, and does not wish to see his child suffer. Unlike me, God could have stopped His Son's suffering since all things are possible for Him. Instead, He kept the bigger picture in mind, the salvation of God's people for all eternity, and allowed the pain.

God doesn't enjoy watching His children suffer, in fact, I believe it breaks His heart. But as a loving parent, He allows things that bring discomfort to accomplish His eternal plan. As Joseph said to his brothers who had tried to murder him, "You meant evil against me, but God meant it for good" (Genesis 50:20 NASB).