As obedient children, do not conform to the evil desires you had when you lived in ignorance. 1 Peter 1:14 NIV
At one point, when Katy was born we had 5 children ages 5 and under. David and Jonathan had their 5th birthday 1 week after Katy was born. To say Pam had her hands full would be an understatement. This was especially true for making a grocery store run. Our hearts are still tender today when we see a mom juggling an infant and trying to corral the other children to stay near her in a store.
The most dangerous part of the grocery store experience was the parking lot. She had to keep all five kids around the shopping cart so that other cars would not hit our children. We had one really hard and fast rule…Stop! It was an expectation for an immediate action. No counting. No repetition of continuous calling to get attention. We disciplined for failure to comply with that command. We were not as consistent in other areas. Because of the increased risk in the parking lot, we expected perfect obedience to the command “Stop!”
The greek word for Obedient is “hypakoḗ (from191 /akoúō, “to hear” and 5259 /hypó, “beneath”) – i.e. obedience – literally, “submission to what is heard” HELPS -Word Studies. Notice, it is not an expectation to conform to a set of rules of do’s and don’ts. Rather it is a submissive response to what is heard.
In the military, life and death are connected to following commands immediately. This is one of the reasons that boot camp is so important. Recruits are trained to give immediate responses…”Sir, Yes, Sir”. A good soldier is one who follows orders well.
When we reduce the Christian life to accepting a set of standards to live by, we have missed the joy of Jesus. He is speaking to us and His words are life and truth. As children of God we must learn to discern what God’s voice sounds like and then follow His desires for our lives.
Just like Pam could see potential danger for our children, God’s perspective is always life giving toward us. Let’s choose today to be His obedient children as He calls us to follow Him. Going our own way can have devastating effects. Pam would receive compliments from others many times, because our children chose to be obedient willingly.
Blessings Love Y’all