Obeying Jesus; Duty, Delight, or Both?
In the early days of my disciple-making journey, I went door-to-door on a weekly basis with others in Austin, TX. We prayed and shared the Gospel with those who would open their doors. Candidly, I didn’t like it. At first, I felt awkward and feared the unknown more than I like to admit. Yet it was the easiest way for us to engage a large number of our city’s residents with Jesus. Therefore, knowing that Jesus wanted more people to encounter Him, I would spend time in prayer pleading for courage to go out and engage people. But even after reading my Bible and spending time in prayer, I admit that I often wasn’t really “feeling” it.
One such afternoon when I had begged God to give me a desire to go out, I was still feeling apathetic and fearful. I was at a crossroads of sorts: Do I live out my identity as an ambassador (2 Cor 5:20) and obey the command to make disciples by going to proclaim the Gospel (Matt 28:18-20)? Or do I try again another day when I “feel” more up to it? This would be a pretty short story if I stayed home, so as you might guess, I begrudgingly went out. And I’m so glad I did.
After we divided into pairs, my partner and I started knocking on doors and offering to pray for anyone who would answer. Eventually, we made our way to an apartment where we met a young woman. As we approached the home, I peered through the mesh frame of the screen door. Inside, I saw a young lady hunched over a coffee table with a line of cocaine she was about to consume. When we offered to pray for her, she broke down crying and proceeded to open up about her drug addiction. We got to pray with her and then share the Gospel, which led to her rededicating her life to Christ. Next, we verbally shared Bible stories with her, encouraged her, and set a time for us to come back.
I left that apartment complex so joyous that God had used our feeble attempt to be faithful that day. The thought crossed my mind on the way back to my house: “What would have happened today if I stayed home?” Only God knows the answer to that question. But I did feel a deep sense of being used for eternal purposes, and I was glad Christ gave me the resolve to go despite my insecurities and fears. Furthermore, the intimacy I felt with Jesus in that moment far exceeded the feeling I was hoping to get during my quiet time beforehand.
Now, I wish I could tell you an awesome story about how that young lady became a disciple-maker and led thousands to Christ, but as far as I know, that didn’t happen. We tried to follow up multiple times with her, but she eventually moved and we lost contact. Does that mean that we failed? By no means! My partner and I played a particular role in her life that the Lord assigned to us. For the remainder of her journey, we trust God’s good character and unchanging purpose to restore all who draw near to Him.
I can tell you countless other stories of times I didn’t feel like obeying, but when I stepped out in faith, Christ met me in my obedience and took me to greater depths of intimacy than previously imaginable. Gathering with other believers, serving those in need, apologizing to a brother or sister, and making disciples often feel more like a discipline rather than a delight for me. But every time I obey, Christ graciously meets me where I’m at to transform me from the inside out and outside in.
Fulfilling Our Duty
If you’re anything like me, you wish your response to New Testament commands was always delightful obedience. But honestly, we usually don’t feel that way. We’ve heard that a wise man delights in the Law of the Lord (Psalm 1:2), however, due to the fleetingness of our flesh, obeying Jesus often feels more like a duty than delight. I used to feel guilty about my lack of desire to obey. But then I came across a freeing parable Jesus gave to His apostles after they asked for an increased measure of faith. After encouraging them with the story that, with faith the size of a mustard seed they could uproot a tree and have it thrown into the sea, Jesus then said,
“Which one of you having a servant tending sheep or plowing will say to him when he comes in from the field, ‘Come at once and sit down to eat’? Instead, will he not tell him, ‘Prepare something for me to eat, get ready, and serve me while I eat and drink; later you can eat and drink’? Does he thank that servant because he did what was commanded? In the same way, when you have done all that you were commanded, you should say, ‘We are unworthy servants; we’ve only done our duty.’” Luke 17:7-10 CSB
How freeing it is to know that, even when we feel like our faith is minuscule, we can entrust ourselves to the will of God through dutiful obedience! In fact, often our greatest exercise of faith is complete surrender and obedience in times of uncertainty. For in doing so, we’re professing through our actions that God’s decrees are better than our fleshly enticements. This really shouldn’t surprise us when we recall that the bedrock of our faith rests on the cross, which was an act of submission and obedience Jesus didn’t feel like doing in the moment (Luke 22:39-46). Yet, we have eternal salvation because Jesus submitted Himself to the Father’s will and obeyed amidst agonizing physical and emotional pain.
Identity Implies Duty
One of the most dangerous lies Christians have believed is that we should only obey Jesus when we feel like it. Imagine for a second the chaos of a world where all duty is avoided until the moment that we feel like fulfilling our responsibilities. Firefighters only extinguish flames when they feel like it. Police officers only rush headlong into danger to save innocent lives when they feel like it. Doctors only perform emergency lifesaving surgery when they feel like it. Christians only sacrificially love and seek the lost when they’re feeling up to it.
We have been given many identities in the New Testament, and they all carry with them an inherent duty whether we feel like it or not. As the Body of Christ, we’re to mutually serve and build one another up. As the Temple of God, we’re to yield to the Spirit of God. As His workmanship, we’re created in Christ for good works. As a Royal Priesthood, we’re to proclaim the excellencies of Him who called us out of darkness. These are not optional additives to the normal Christian life. These identities describe who Christians are inherently in Christ, or at least, the identities we should possess. When we are “in Christ” at the moment of our salvation, we instantaneously receive multiple individual and corporate identities that bring purpose and responsibility. This is something we should lean into, not run from. When we try to escape our identity, we miss the joy that comes through dutiful obedience.
Wait, I Still Don’t Feel Like It…
I want to be clear; I’m not trying to communicate that Jesus only wants your begrudging obedience. His stated desire is for you to always abide in Him, and for your obedience to His commands to flow from Him (Jn 15:1-11). What I am communicating is that our hearts are very deceptive, and our enemy is very cunning. Since Adam and Eve, Satan has been on a continuous campaign to convince God’s people that disobedience to His commands is more fulfilling than full surrender to Him, and to His Word, will, and ways. And our hearts, being marred by sin, are all too quick to justify this dangerous lie.
For that reason, I want to offer four suggestions for things you can do when obedience doesn’t feel delightful:
Take Scripture at face value. If the Bible says obedience is for our good, believe it.
Pray that your heart will find joy in obeying New Testament commands. Always remind yourself that your justification in the sight of God rests on Christ's obedience, not your own. Acknowledge that any feelings of burden (1 John 5:2-4), shame, or guilt are not from God, and ask Jesus to change your desires and give you delight in obeying Him.
Resolve to obey regardless of how you feel. Build your house on the rock by hearing Jesus's words and acting on them (Mt 7:24-27).
Expect God to surprise you and do something in you and/or through you. Jesus loves to accomplish His purposes through His disciples’ feeble attempts at obeying Him. He also loves to use every opportunity to further conform us to His image.
Obedience can be an uncomfortable word in some Christian circles. This should not be the case as we reflect on the goodness of the One who has given us the commands to obey. All of God’s commands are intended for our personal growth and corporate flourishing. As we obey, Christ uses every opportunity to fulfill His purposes in the world and further conforms us to His image. Therefore, we can trust that, in those moments that we’re fully yielded to the Spirit’s nudging, it is for our good. We can also trust that in those moments when we don’t feel like obeying, doing so is equally for our good. For in those moments, we’re exercising a faith that can only be properly explained as dutiful obedience to a loving and reigning King.