Obedience

I'm grateful for many things. Today, I'm especially
grateful for what happened this morning. I went to a church one of my friends was preaching at, to help them take the service. It was the first time I'd worked with Eddie the zebra in eight months, so we were a little rusty, but it all worked out. Eddie wasn't the preacher by the way, but my helper. He remembered his testimony without it being written down, and people seemed to dig what we did. I mean, the kids were definitely with us, as were a good number of adults. One thing I couldn't work out was how to break through the stoney gazes that some of the adults seemed reluctant to part with, but all in all we enjoyed ourselves, and I believe God spoke through it. Eddie's story is like many of our own-one of rebellion. His Mother told him not to stray from the path in the middle of the jungle. And guess what he did? That's right-he strayed from the path. The consequences? Getting muddy, thinking he'd lost his stripes, getting upset, thinking he's not a zebra anymore, despair!

Eddies' Mother soon set him straight though. She didn't tell him off, ground him, hit him or anything like that. Instead, she took him to the river and helped him wash away the mud. She knew he was a zebra all along, albeit one who had made a mistake. We, like Eddie, all make mistakes. We all do things we shouldn't, and from time to time we will always disobey someone, even if just a little. If we ever go against the ways in which we are taught to live in the Bible, i.e. the ten commandments, and also the instructions given to us by Jesus, we too will end up in a mess. This is why Jesus came-to help us, to teach us how to live, yes, but also to die for us, taking with him on that cross all the mistakes we have and will ever make. If we trust in him, realise our need for him, accepting him into our lives by asking him to make us new, he will. As it says in 2 Corinthians 5:17, If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! Jesus washes away our mistakes, washes away the 'mud' if you like, so that we can start afresh with him. Eddie's Mother knew he'd done wrong, but she corrected him...in love. Maybe that's what the Christians among us need to do, for that's what Jesus will do when we go to him. Instead of saying 'look at you, you've made a mistake', Jesus instead helps us, by the gift of the Holy Spirit he has made available to us, so that we don't have to make the same mistake again. Just as Eddie will (hopefully) not stray from that path again, so must we remain obedient to Jesus, the one who calls us and came to save us, whom the grave could not contain, that we may live lives pleasing to God the Father.

Eddie and I spoke about obeying Jesus, and my friend who was preaching later preached about this same thing. In Matthew 28:19, Jesus says to his disciples (which applies to Christians today, because by being his followers we are by definition disciples): Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptising them in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. This command from Jesus is as relevant and applicable to us now as it ever was, and the need for it to be obeyed is perhaps greater than it ever was. One lady at the church said 'We don't do mission here.' What she failed to realise though is that, without mission, there is no church! If church is the body of Christ, the people of God, then His people, who were made to be in relationship with Him, are called to obey Him! God's mission in this world is a continuing thing and will be until Jesus returns to judge it. This means that, whether we are praying, talking about our faith, inviting people to join us at church or whatever, we all have a role to play in God's mission (or missio Dei), and we don't have to become preachers, missionaries or whatever else. God can use anyone and anything, and it is not an option we can reject but instead it is a privilege to be used in His service. That was a bit of a rant, but I am so grateful that I took part in that service this morning, and for the sermon my friend preached. Whoever we are, our role in God's mission as disciples of Jesus Christ cannot be ignored.