Flexible Obedience

This is love for God: to obey his commands. And his commands are not burdensome. 1 John 5:3, NIV

One recent weekend, I was watching my oldest son playing quarterback for his college football team when I gained a whole new perspective on what it means to be obedient.

As Brock ran his team’s offense, he did what his coach commanded him to do. The coach called the plays, and Brock ran them.

Brock’s obedience, however, was not robotic or blind. The kind of obedience Brock had to demonstrate required every ounce of strength he could muster and every bit of talent he possessed. He could not just blindly follow the plays the coaches had drawn up that week; he had to constantly adjust to the struggle around him. He had to follow the script the coach had laid out for him, but he had to do it in the environment in which he was competing.

Sitting in the stands at that football game, it hit me that this is what everyday obedience to God looks like. In the Bible, God has given us clear directions for living. Obedience to those directions requires every bit of talent and energy we can muster, but often it also requires us to have the wisdom to know how to adjust to the environment in which we obey. In short, obedience to God sometimes means flexibility on our part.

God never called us to be like mindless robots; he just called us to obey. And just as my son’s ability to adapt and adjust helped him to be a success on the football field, so our ability to adapt and adjust helps us to be successful in our walk of obedience to God.

Lord, show me how to be flexible and adaptable when it comes to obediently applying the truth of your Word in every situation I face.