Trust and obey

Barring some great moment of inspiration next week, I think that this might be my final piece of waffle for the year. Thanks to those of you who inspired me to get back into regular publication of my meanderings.

Last Sunday I spoke about John the Baptist and asked you to think about the second part of Luke 3:2, where we read: ‘the word of God came to John son of Zechariah in the wilderness.’ I don’t whether those words actually did take root for any of you but they certainly did for me. Since last Sunday I have reflected on this word of God stuff quite a bit. In Mark 2 we read of the calling of Levi (Matthew) the Tax Collector. We read that, ‘as he (Jesus) was walking along, he saw Levi son of Alphaeus sitting at the tax booth, and he said to him “follow me.” And he got up and followed him.’

Many people today love an argument. They will argue and pontificate on any subject under the sun and seem to have a clear opinion on almost everything and anything. Now, Matthew would have been a reasonably astute character, yet he folded without any resistance at all when Jesus called him. I mean; where was he supposed to follow Jesus to? The least he could do was produce a road map or an itinerary for the trip. Why exactly should Levi even consider following him? What did he do with the money he was collecting at the time and did he have a locum all ready and waiting to take over? So many questions.

It is Advent; a time of waiting. Mary was confronted by the angel Gabriel – not an everyday occurrence – yet her response was ‘Here am I, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word.’ Joseph, a decent enough bloke, was thinking to handle the pending scandal quietly, until an angel appeared and said, ‘do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife, for the child conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit.’ The story goes on to say that Joseph, ‘did as the angel had commanded him; he took her as his wife.’ This word of God stuff is powerful!?

At least Mary and Joseph got visiting angels! Matthew got two words from a passing Rabbi; but it was enough. ‘Follow me.’ He was never the same again.

Sometimes we need to collate enough information to ensure that we have all of the available facts to hand before making a decision. Trouble is some people never stop collating. The other side of this is the accusation of people doing things on blind faith, with no information at all.

I have never had Jesus walk past and say ‘follow me’ and I have never – to my knowledge – been visited by angels. I have known moments however, when I realised either at the time, or when looking back, that I have had God speak to me at many different times along the way. I recognise hearing God speak long ago when a special young lady spoke into my cynical heart one Sunday morning in country Victoria. I felt the presence and the word of God calling me to baptism as part of my conversion journey. I have known the comfort of God’s word at times of loss and great discouragement.

A secret to this? For me it is best illustrated via the words of an old song – ‘Trust and obey, for there’s no other way to be happy in Jesus, but to trust and obey.’

It is my ‘green light’ theology. Trust it because it might just be God! If you don’t trust it and simply set the moment aside you might never know if it was God. If your lifestyle is not to trust before a thorough analysis, you risk analysing yourself out of God’s word.

Faith and obedience are not two separate things with one following another. They are a unit designed to join hands and walk through together.

I hope that you have a great Christmas season and – wherever you are - find time to attend a local church and recall the fact that Jesus is the reason for the season.