:: In.a.Mirror.Dimly ::

If you read the Bible long enough, you’ll realize that reading the Bible isn’t enough. In fact, if you learn every story and law and try to imitate everything you read, you’ll drive either yourself or everyone you know crazy.

The more you try to systematically obey the Bible, the harder it will become. Jesus didn’t leave us with a one-size-fits-all blueprint for obedience and discipleship. He asked different things of the various people he encountered.

Some were called to leave everything and follow him. Others were told to stay put and serve their communities. Still others were told to go and sin no more without a command to start following him.

There surely were some basic ground rules in place for followers, but the we can find examples in the New Testament of both rich young rulers who were asked to leave everything behind and home owners who practiced hospitality and generosity.

What is Jesus asking you to do?

The Bible tell suggests this: You’ll need to ask him rather than looking up the answer in the Bible.

And that creates an interesting picture of obedience.

There are the basic rules that must be obeyed if you want to be part of God’s people. Love the Lord first, love your neighbors, and don’t let anything prevent you from doing either. Those who allow greed, pride, selfishness, anger, or any other sin interfere, the call is for swift repentance.

Obedience is pretty simple to figure out since we know exactly what God requires of us in the scriptures. But there is another form of obedience where we hear from God and know what he expects of us, and we can choose to disobey him. We should have some biblical precedents for this kind of obedience, but this is a little different because it tends to apply to individuals or groups.

One example would be Paul and Barnabas who were praying and fasting when the Holy Spirit set them aside for missions work. Some Christians were called to stay put in Antioch, but in the case of Saul and Barnabas, they had specific work that God called them to do.

There were biblical examples of this kind of prophetic calling to God’s mission, but this kind of obedience is far more specific to individuals in a certain situation. God both lays out the ground rules for us in terms of general obedience and speaks to us concerning particular callings.

If we make an obedience system out of the stories in the Bible, then we’re going to miss the guidance provided by the Holy Spirit and we’ll fall into legalism. Some things in the Bible are quite clear, but other aspects of obedience require an attentive ear to the Spirit of God.

As I’ve started to understand the latter aspect of obedience, I’ve found that Christianity makes a lot more sense. I’m not called to be a Paul. I’m called to listen like a Paul, resist sin like a Paul, and obey like a Paul, but there’s a good chance God hasn’t called me to make tents. I’m not a lover of camping and God especially knows I don’t pay close attention—a real problem if I started sewing tent seams together.

The world is a better place without me trying to make tents or traveling from town to town to debate in synagogues. I’m grateful that God has made us with our individual gifts and particular callings. I’m grateful that the Holy Spirit keeps me from making myself and my family crazy.

May we have ears to hear what the Spirit is speaking to us today.