In high school, I remember a missionary speaker that came to church. He spoke about a family on the mission field, in a tropic part of the world with giant poisonous snakes. The son was playing in the house, the father came to the door and saw a deadly snake above his son’s head in the rafters. “Son, drop to your knees and crawl to me.” The son did and it saved his life.
I was struck with the obedience of the son, but also the trust building that the father had done prior to that point. If the son did not trust or respect the authority of his father, he would not have most likely behaved as asked. Instead, he may have questioned and in those moments, the snake could have struck and bit, injecting poison.
The disciples followed Jesus and grew in their respect and trust of him. However, I wonder how hard it was for them to obey when they did not fully understand what was going on. The instructions were given, go and get the donkey and the colt. This wasn’t heading to an auction or market where these animals would be bought. Instead it was to go and get them, they belong to God. Can’t you just imagine the authority and assurance in the voice of Jesus at that phrase?
Still, these men had to make a decision. They could question or obey, argue or obey, disregard or obey, ignore or obey. Boiling down to the distilled version – they could disobey or obey. What did they do?
“The disciples went and did as Jesus had instructed them,” (Matthew 21:6).
Obedience, built from trust and respect for that authority. Okay – but what about obedience when we don’t understand God? How well do I obey when I don’t get it, when I don’t understand why or how or when? Do I go and do as instructed or do I question, argue, disregard, ignore, and disobey?
While I wish I could say that I am always obedient, it is something that I keep striving for.
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