Obedience is for children. When we grow up, we can make our own rules. That, too often is the way we think. A little observation will lead one to the contrary conclusion - children are prone to disobedience. The mature person is one who has ordered his or her life according to a law greater than oneself. It is immature to disobey, mature to obey. Those adults who are liberated from obeying other people's rules are actually the least mature.

Jesus was the ultimate obedient one. "I always do what is pleasing to (God)," he said - John 8:39 - "My food is to do the will of the one who sent me and to complete his works" - John 4:34 -

 Imagine that! Jesus, the fully liberated one, does not do His own will. He obeys " the one who sent me."

For Saint Paul, obedience is one of Jesus' defining characteristics. It is what makes him the Lord. Once Jesus became human, "He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death" - Phil. 2:8 - Because of His total obedience, God exalted Him to such an extent that everyone should bow before him. His obedience transforms him into the one who is to be obeyed. In fact, His always doing what is pleasing to the Father is the basic of His authority. He is to be obeyed because He obeys.

This has great significance for how we ought to live our lives, St. Paul contrasts his beloved Philippians - "you have always obeyed" - with the "crooked and perverse generation" in whose midst they live. Their obedience is a sure sign that God is at work in them. Phil. 2:12-15 -

Our call is not to be "creative," to be freelancers raising our own opinions above the truth given by the Holy Spirit. It is to be obedience to God's will, indeed to live within that will. The more we obey, the more God will ask us to obey. "When God finds a person determined to obey him, He takes the life of that person in His hands......Minute by minute, He defines the gestures and words of that person, his way of making use of His time, in short everything." - Ps.189 - HE'LL MAKE YOU HIS OWN -

Authority- not worldly power, but real authority - comes from giving one's life over to God. Endeavour to make not only the large decisions of your life, but also even the small daily decisions, instruments of God's will. Turn to Him at every moment and He will more and more make you His own.

The little word "obey" pops up repeatedly throughout St. Paul's letters. There is the obedience of faith - Rom. 1:5, 16:26 - obedience to the Church's teaching - Rom. 6:17 - obedience to the Good News - Rom. 10:16 - obedience to the Truth - Gal. 5:7 - and obedience to Christ - 2Cor. 10:5 - Therefore, Obey God and know life's ultimate joy.

BY GLEN ARGUN, WCR

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Sunday, May 24, 2009

I have through years of reading, pondering, reflecting and contemplating, the 3 things that last; FAITH . HOPE . LOVE and I would like to made available my sharing from the many thinkers, authors, scholars and theologians whose ideas and thoughts I have borrowed. God be with them always. Amen!

I STILL HAVE MANY THINGS TO SAY TO YOU BUT THEY WOULD BE TOO MUCH FOR YOU NOW. BUT WHEN THE SPIRIT OF TRUTH COMES, HE WILL LEAD YOU TO THE COMPLETE TRUTH, SINCE HE WILL NOT BE SPEAKING AS FROM HIMSELF, BUT WILL SAY ONLY WHAT HE HAS LEARNT; AND HE WILL TELL YOU OF THE THINGS TO COME.

HE WILL GLORIFY ME, SINCE ALL HE TELLS YOU WILL BE TAKEN FROM WHAT IS MINE. EVERYTHING THE FATHER HAS IS MINE; THAT IS WHY I SAID: ALL HE TELLS YOU WILL BE TAKEN FROM WHAT IS MINE. - JOHN 16:12-15 -