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January 11, 2009
WHAT MY OBEDIENCE TO GOD COSTS OTHER PEOPLE
They laid hold upon one Simon ... and on him they laid
the cross.
Luke 23:2
http://www.SearchGodsWord.org/desk/?query=lu+23:2&sr=1
If we obey God it is going to cost other people more than it costs
us, and that is where the sting comes in. If we are in love with our
Lord, obedience does not cost us anything, it is a delight, but it
costs those who do not love Him a good deal. If we obey God it will
mean that other people's plans are upset, and they will gibe us with
it - "You call this Christianity?" We can prevent the suffering; but
if we are going to obey God, we must not prevent it, we must let the
cost be paid.
Our human pride entrenches itself on this point, and we say - I will
never accept anything from anyone. We shall have to, or disobey God.
We have no right to expect to be in any other relation than our Lord
Himself was in (see Luke 8:2-3).
Stagnation in spiritual life comes when we say we will bear the whole
thing ourselves. We cannot. We are so involved in the universal
purposes of God that immediately we obey God, others are affected.
Are we going to remain loyal in our obedience to God and go through
the humiliation of refusing to be independent, or are we going to
take the other line and say - I will not cost other people suffering?
We can disobey God if we choose, and it will bring immediate relief
to the situation, but we shall be a grief to our Lord. Whereas if we
obey God, He will look after those who have been pressed into the
consequences of our obedience. We have simply to obey and to leave
all consequences with Him.
Beware of the inclination to dictate to God as to what you will allow
to happen if you obey Him.
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