Obedience. ‘It is better than sacrifice’. Mmmm. Not a very contemporary thought, eh? But it is at the heart of the New Testament letter of Hebrews, and what is being expressed to the early Christians and also us right there.It really struck me, in looking at verses 7-8 in Chapter 5 of Hebrews, that Jesus did not find obeying God easy. It led him into places and situations of struggle and suffering. And then I saw that, where it tells us that Jesus cried out in prayer with ‘loud groans and cries’, He was crying out to God for help in order to obey!
So then it really hit me that what every Christian I have ever known or met struggles with the most, is willingness to really obey God. To do it! It’s not easy. So often, we know what we should do but don’t do it.
And then, Jesus’ prayer again. He prayed for help to obey. Enter the Holy Spirit.
It’s Pentecost Sunday coming up. What did the Holy Spirit come for? To increase the ‘feel good’ factor in our lives? To enable us to be achievers of what we want – a sort of Christian alternative to witchcraft?
Nope. He came and comes simply to supply us with the power to obey our heavenly Father. Got it?
