Another thing we learn throughout Lent is obedience, in addition to repentance and forgiveness. 

Read Philippians 2: 3 – 11. 

Paul, the writer of this letter to the Church in Philippi, tells us that Jesus is the model for humility and obedience. 

When you look up the Word, obedience, in dictionaries, it implies some form of compliance with an order, request, or law. It also means submission to authority. 

An example is like you’re driving on the highway, and then you realize there is a car behind you with flashing lights. Every time that happens, you know that you have to slow down and eventually stop. That’s submission to authority. 

And, the reason you stop is that you don’t want any penalty. You fear the consequences of breaking the law. 

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Obedience comes out of love.

 

Paul does not talk about it directly in our scripture. But, you hear about it in John 3: 16 (NIV), 

“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.” 

Jesus came to the earth to fulfill God’s love for humankind. His public ministry, he started at age 30, made him so well known, as a result of his authority in teaching the Word and miracles. 

The Word he taught and demonstrated through mighty acts of healing, forgiveness, and deliverance from demon-possessions, was himself – see John 1. 

And, everything prepared him for one of the most painful deaths a human being can experience: death on the cross. 

When you think of what Jesus did for us, that is what we call true love. It’s the kind of love that draws us closer to God and each other through faith in Christ. 

Obedience coming out of that love is relational. 

 

Obedience implies humility. 

 

Read Philippians 2: 3. 

Paul says that we should consider others more significant than ourselves. Is this something easy for us to do? 

Not at all! 

That’s why we need to rely on God’s help we get from God through Christ. If Jesus can do it, then we can do it too with his help. 

Paul goes on to say (see verses 3 and 4) that we have to pay attention to people’s needs. I think he’s talking about not only physical or financial but also spiritual and emotional needs. 

A lot of times, Churches shift their attention from spiritual and emotional to physical and financial. 

Making disciples is a holistic approach to personal transformation one experiences through faith in Christ. 

To humble ourselves means that we empty ourselves (see verse 6). Here’s what you could do as a way to humble yourself: 

• Take all of your burdens (life’s challenges and stuff) to Jesus Christ in prayer (Matthew 11: 28-30). 
• Speak with somebody about your struggles. 

 

Obedience means taking the form of a servant. 

 

Read again, Philippians 2: 6. 

Paul says that Christ took the form of a servant, which comes out of humility as well as obedience. 

While Jesus’ mission was to save humankind, he also wanted to model how to serve each other. He, himself, said that “the greatest among you shall be your servant” (Matthew 23: 11. ESV). 

In the end, God, the Father, rewarded Jesus for choosing to be humble, obedient, and servant of all, the point of death, even death on a cross (Philippians 2: 8). As a result, Jesus is the source of our salvation. In his name, every knee shall bow, and every tongue shall confess that he is Lord of all to the glory of our Father in heaven. 

 

Bringing it together

 

God, and because of your obedience and humility, will use you to lead people to Christ. How fulfilling is it to watch how God is transforming other people’s lives just as a result of our obedience to God and God’s Word! God still saves and transforms lives. When we humble ourselves under God’s mighty hands and obey God daily, God is always ready to show up through us.