Saturday, September 02, 2006

Obedience

Though He was in the form of God, Jesus did not deem equality with God, something to be grasped. Rather, He emptied himself taking the form of a slave. He was known to be of human estate and it was thus that He humbled Himself obediently accepting death, death on a cross. Because of this God highly exalted Him and bestowed upon Him the name above every other name, that at Jesus' name every knee must bend in the Heavens, on the Earth, and under the Earth and every tounge proclaim that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father.
-Kinosis hymn from Phillipians
Obedience is one of the three Evangelical Counsels, the other two being poverty and chastity. Poverty requires renouncing material goods, chastity involves sacrificing sexual intimacy, but I think obedience is one of the hardest to live because it involves renouncing our own will. We aren't professed religious, but we still have to live a life obedient to the Church.

Is obedience burdensome? It depends on how you look at it. For some, obedience is as chore, something they would rather not do. For others, obedience can be seen as freeing and allows them to trust in God more. As humans we have the choice to see rules, commandments, etc... as externally imposed limits to our freedom. We also have the ability to see them as reminders from our loving Father who only seeks the best for His children.

All lawful authority comes from God. This is true for Churches, governments, and even families. Just as Jesus was obedient to the Father, we have a responsibility to be obedient to the truths of the faith and our superiors in the faith (insofar as we aren't being asked to sin).

Let us be obedient to the will of the Father that we might be with Him forever in Heaven. Amen.

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