When our dog Butch was a puppy, we took him to obedience training. He did remarkably well, which shouldn’t have been a surprise given that he is overly intelligent. He learned quickly, he did the things that he was trained to do, and nearly thirteen years later, he will still follow most of those commands (at least when he feels like doing so).
Jesus was completely and totally obedient to God’s will. He did not follow his Father’s commands only when he felt like doing so; rather he obeyed even in the times when he might not want to do so. Think about his prayer in the garden before his arrest: “My Father, if it is possible, may this cup pass from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will” (Matthew 26:39). That perfect obedience, that perfect willingness to follow God’s will over his own, is what brought us all the gain of righteousness.
Think about the words I shared with you on Tuesday: Adam’s disobedience brought sin into the world, while Christ’s perfect obedience bought our freedom from it. The challenge for many of us is that while we know that we have this freedom from sin, we still will choose to follow our own hearts’ desires rather than allowing ourselves to live obedient to God (and I’m not pointing any fingers here; I have the same issues). Even when we miss the mark, His grace provides the opportunity for us to try again, which truly is the gift that allows so many of us to move forward each day.