12-20-13 - Trust and Obey

“When Joseph awoke from sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him…”

Joseph was a paragon of virtue, it would appear – a man who did what God commanded even though it exposed him to shame and ridicule – and ultimately a fair amount of danger, once the implications of being step-father to God’s son became apparent. Joseph excelled at obeying.

I admit I am somewhat allergic to the word “obedience.” I remember a hymn, which I always loathed, for I believe it captures all the legalistic religiosity I spend a lot of energy countering:  
“Trust and obey, for there’s no other way / to be happy in Jesus, but to trust and obey.”

“Yes, there is!” I want to shout. “There is the way of grace and acceptance and doing good on the power of the Spirit, not on our own!” As one whose faith came alive under a steady stream of preaching about the grace of God, and as one who is keenly aware of the limits of willpower, I prefer to stress the unconditional love of God that we receive despite our failure to obey. Obedience is so closely linked in my mind to legalism, I react negatively to it, despite my generally compliant nature.

And yet, here is Joseph, reminding me of the power that can be unleashed when we simply obey. Joseph’s obedience may have been due to his self-disciplined nature. Or maybe it resulted from the very clear and powerful, supernatural encounter he had in his dream with an angel of the Lord – reinforced, no doubt, by Mary’s tale of her own angelic encounter.

I think we might find ourselves more inclined toward obeying and following God's guidance if we can be more in touch with our own divine encounters. They may not be as dramatic as Joseph’s, but they are real.

So... when did you last sense the Spirit of God nudging you or instructing you in some way? 
Or, when did you last sense the presence of God around you? 
Or see evidence of God’s handiwork in your life or in the world?

If you can’t think of anything… there might be a prayer in that, asking God to help you become more aware, or to open your own heart a little wider to what is happening in the unseen realm of spirit.

It is hard to trust, let alone obey, a total stranger. If we keep God at arm’s length or at a polite distance, it's harder to discern the leaps of faith we are invited to take, let alone jump. God may never ask us to take a leap like Joseph did… Then again, God does invite us to nurture the Christ-life in ourselves and in others, every day of the year, like Joseph.

We don’t have to escort a pregnant woman to Bethlehem… we just have to find the couple there and meet their newborn.