I wish that I could say honestly that I am fully obedient to my Lord, at all times in all ways. But the more I know my Lord, the more I see how far away my shortcomings take me - and thus I see ever more the need for what He has done by His suffering, death and resurrection in order to forgive my multitude of sins and to bring me back into a right relationship with Him. And so the more I know Him and understand what He has done for me and for all mankind, the more I love and admire Him and the more I desire to serve Him.
To what extent should we be obedient to Him? We who believe and thus are saved are to become increasingly like Jesus Christ. Since He is God, disobedience to any of what He has commanded is sin. Therefore we ought to be striving to be fully obedient to His words, easy or difficult, for better or for worse.
Obedience should be of utmost importance to us. Jesus Christ died for our sins. Because of His obedience to the Father, we can rejoice in the fact that we have new life in Him. We ought to willingly submit our entire lives to Him. What should happen when obedience to God becomes detrimental to our earthly lives? We must seek to be obedient all the more. There are times when this is a tremendous challenge. But if Jesus Christ commands it, that should be sufficient for us to obey.
What if we are obedient but our ministries are unfruitful? We get frustrated. Without quantitative progress, perhaps resources we need will be diverted to faster growing areas, leaving us in need. Certain fields are considered ministerial "dead zones." But even there -- especially there -- our witness to the saving work of our Lord Jesus Christ must remain. As Hesselgrave wrote, "Years of patient preevangelistic endeavor may be the price of responsiveness" to the Gospel. We cannot give up. Even if there were no other reason to continue, Christ commands us to be witnesses. That alone would be enough. It doesn't make obedience easier, but regardless, we still must be obedient. Until His triumphant return, we are to be His witnesses. The sower must plant seeds in drought and in fair weather, for he never knows when the rains will come and when they will be withheld. The sower does not stop planting because the harvest is forecast to be small. Therefore let us have hope and be strengthened, obedient to our Lord and Savior. It may not be easy, but it is a worthy endeavor.
