Perfect Obedience

We are sinful human beings.  We make a mess of things daily.  But, if we could lay before the Lord perfect obedience, what would it look like?

Would it be a bright cheery, “Yes, Lord!  But later?”

Or maybe it would be, “Sure, but only up until this point?”

How about, “Maybe, I could obey, but let’s think about this one a bit?”

Or a grumpy, “Fine!  But don’t think I’m happy about it!”

Is this the kind of obedience we’d want to teach our children?  Model to them?

I imagine that the answer is a resounding No!  But, the truth is that all too often this is exactly the way we model obedience to the Lord.  Our sinfulness overcomes.  We fear consequences.  We cling to our pride, our agendas, our time-frames. Even when we know obedience to God is right and good, we give it only begrudgingly or with conditions, or we postpone it to a later date.

Oh, God’s love covers over a multitude of sin – even the sin of disobedience!  But, is this an excuse for our disobedience?  Especially when we’ve heard the Lord loud and clear?

Some time ago, when my eldest was just a toddler, I learned a little five-fingered ditty to help her follow through with obeying instructions.  It has stuck with our family, and I frequently bring it out to remind the kids what immediate and wholehearted obedience looks like:

Yes, Mom!
I’ll obey!
Straight away!
All the way!
The happy way!

But each time I hear them say it, I am reminded of my own frequent disobedience before the Lord.  How I long to say with consistency,

Yes, Lord!
I’ll obey!
Straight away!
All the way!
The happy way!

But I don’t.  And they don’t.  Not always.  Not consistently.  Which is why, when all five of our hand’s fingers are raised together at the end of the ditty, we should close them together with our other hand in prayer and say,

Help me, Lord, I pray.

Blessings,

Taryn

Taryn Hayes loves that she gets to live in the shadow of one of the new 7 Natural Wonders of the World: Table Mountain.  Since the age of four, she has called Cape Town, South Africa her home.  It is here where she came to love Jesus at the age of six and meet her loving husband, Craig, at the age of 15.  These days, she is in the thick of raising four diverse and wonderful children.  Homeschooling her kids is a large focus of her day-time hours, but by night, Taryn likes to write.  Her first published youth novel is Seekers of the Lost Boy, about a 12-year-old homeschooled boy, Simon.  He discovers a mystery message-in-a-bottle and finds himself catapulted into an incredible adventure.

You can connect with Taryn and learn more about the homeschooled characters from her Seekers series on her website or on Facebook, Twitter and Youtube.