Jesus lived a life of perfect obedience. He always!—always!—did His Father’s will.
Imagine. We might be willing to submit our will to another person’s will for an hour—or maybe an afternoon or a day. But even then, inside—in our heart of hearts—we wait for our time of servitude to end so we can relapse into our own ideas, our own agenda. A lifetime of submission? Impossible.
Yet that’s what Jesus did, how Jesus lived. Locked into an earthly body, He submitted to His Heavenly Father. Not because He had to, but because He wanted to. Love for His Father and for His Father’s people were His motivation. He didn’t forget—even on the cross when He cried, “Father, forgive them. . . .” (Lk. 23:34)
Jesus’ perfect obedience, even obedience to death on a cross, is our salvation. By that will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ . . . for by one offering He has perfected forever those who are being sanctified. (Heb. 10:10, 14)
Originally published March 26, 1993.
Picture: Roses, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, 2008. Photo by Solveig.
Imagine. We might be willing to submit our will to another person’s will for an hour—or maybe an afternoon or a day. But even then, inside—in our heart of hearts—we wait for our time of servitude to end so we can relapse into our own ideas, our own agenda. A lifetime of submission? Impossible.
Yet that’s what Jesus did, how Jesus lived. Locked into an earthly body, He submitted to His Heavenly Father. Not because He had to, but because He wanted to. Love for His Father and for His Father’s people were His motivation. He didn’t forget—even on the cross when He cried, “Father, forgive them. . . .” (Lk. 23:34)
Jesus’ perfect obedience, even obedience to death on a cross, is our salvation. By that will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ . . . for by one offering He has perfected forever those who are being sanctified. (Heb. 10:10, 14)
Originally published March 26, 1993.
Picture: Roses, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, 2008. Photo by Solveig.
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