Willing Obedience

So much of what we do in life is bound up in fulfilling things that are compulsory or acting from a sense of duty. In our work places and communities, rules, requirements and expectations form a large part of our day. While some balk at these constraints, the vast majority of people are quite happy to comply in order to maintain a peaceful lifestyle. This of course is something we all appreciate and desire. Often we do things out of duty because we are looking for a good outcome, particularly for ourselves. Should we be satisfied though, with compliant obedience or a sense of duty? Is there a better response we should be seeking?

The apostle Paul, in his letter to Philemon, brought up the subject of Onesimus, a runaway slave. While on the run, Onesimus had met Paul and become a believer. Paul was sending him back to his master Philemon, who was also a Christian. However, he wrote to Philemon first, with the desire that Onesimus would be received well. ‘I’m sending him back, but without your consent I wanted to do nothing, that your good deed might not be by compulsion as it were, but voluntary. For perhaps he departed for a while for this purpose, that you might receive him forever, no longer as a slave but more than a slave – a beloved brother, especially to me, but how much more to you, both in the flesh and in the Lord.’ Phil 1:12-16.

Now Paul could have said, ‘You have to receive this man back. He’s a brother. If you can’t receive a brother, you have no love in your heart and there’s no hope for you’. But notice what he was trying to draw out of this man. He wanted a kindness to be shown towards Onesimus, not a compliant obedience.

In the Old Testament we read of a huge request Abraham made towards his wife Sarah. His approach to her was very similar to the way Paul approached Philemon. ‘This is your kindness that you would do for me.’ Gen 20:13. He wasn’t demanding obedience from her as his wife. He sought her ‘kindness’ or voluntary consent. He did not want her response to be compliant obedience.

Voluntary obedience is one that is freely offered. Offering can only come from our true identity. In a marriage relationship for example, a man and a woman stand in their individual identities as they fellowship in the task. Each is free to be who they have been called to be and can offer ‘kindness’ or voluntary obedience to each other. As we offer obedience in love, rather than from compliance or a sense of duty, we will experience the power and love of God in our relationships.

Ray Jackson

Return to top

Feature Articles
May 2008

Marvellous Faith

The Living Song

Present Truth

The Faith of Abraham

Wisdom and Folly

The Valley of Baca

The Nature of Business

Willing Obedience

Light to the Nations