Almost Obedient

 Almost Obedient

In the days before it was compulsory to wear seatbelts when travelling in a car, a man set out on a journey with his young son next to him. The boy became boisterous and started jumping up and down on his seat.

“Stop that, and sit down properly”, his father said. But the boy continued misbehaving and the man repeated his instruction several times until he eventually shouted them at the top of his voice, while he pulled the car over and stopped driving.

The boy finally did as he was asked and sat, rather sullenly, next to his father. As the father started on the journey again, he felt a little guilty for having shouted at his little boy. “Thank you. That’s better,” he said.

“There is no need to thank me,” the boy replied “I might be sitting down on the outside, but inside I am still jumping up and down!”

Is there such a thing as partial obedience? I have sometimes wondered about whether Abram only partially obeyed God. He was told to go from his people and his father’s household (Genesis 12:1) yet he took with him Lot, his nephew. That did not work out very well. In 1 Samuel chapter 15 we read the account of King Saul’s partial obedience, which cost him his crown. We read in verse 3 that God had instructed him to destroy all the animals of the Amalekites, but Saul spared the best of the animals and brought them back together with the king of the Amalakites.

Partial obedience is disobedience. The Children of Israel suffered 40 wasted years because of partial obedience in their journey to Canaan. But we seem to fail to learn the lesson. Partial obedience is seen on every hand. Attending church and singing hymns while living less than fully dedicated to God does not make our worship acceptable, We only prove God’s full and perfect will when we choose the pathway of obedience (see Romans 12:1-3).

As the hymn writer put it, “we never can prove the delights of his love until all on the altar we lay; for the favour he shows, for the joy he bestows, are for them who will trust and obey.” Choosing to fully obey is usually hard, but God always gives grace. Obeying him shows we trust him. Let’s not compromise, or jump up and down on the inside, or bring back sheep on the excuse of offering some of them to God. What is God asking of you?

Barry Osborne - 5th December 2022