“If you love me, keep my commands.” (John 14:15)

I am always amazed at most medication advertisements I see on TV. While visually showing you happy, active people who are presumably taking the medication – there is a huge amount of commercial time consumed by sharing the potential adverse effects of these drugs. Many of these contain the strictest of warnings, labeled as black box warnings. These are issued by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) when there is reasonable evidence of an association or a serious hazard with the drug, up to and including death. Yet most of these commercials end with the statement, “Ask your doctor if this medication is right for you.”  I sometimes say to myself, “Would they be right for anyone?”

If you have ever taken the time to thoroughly read the manual of certain pieces of power equipment, you may be hesitant to use the device after doing so. Many of these manuals contain firm warnings using terms like “never” and “danger”. In years past, items were sometimes sold under the premise “let the buyer beware” – meaning that the buyer assumes the risk that a product may have defects or fail to meet expectations. But in our current litigious society, that occurs less than it once did. I once served on a jury where a man who was disabled was suing his former employer, alleging that he had been injured using their provided equipment.  The entire case rested upon whether or not the individual had been made aware of the dangers of said equipment and proper training to prevent injury had been given. If that could be proven, and the man failed to do what he had been told – then he had no case.

The Christian journey is very much like that. Throughout God’s word, there are many instances of those who disobeyed. We don’t have to go any further than the first book of The Bible to see two profound examples of God’s warnings.  In the first, God spoke to Noah: “I am going to bring floodwaters on the earth to destroy all life under the heavens, every creature that has the breath of life in it. Everything on earth will perish. But I will establish my covenant with you, and you will enter the ark–you and your sons and your wife and your sons’ wives with you; Noah did everything just as God commanded him” (Genesis 6:17-18,22).  The second case involving Abraham’s nephew Lot was different. God sent His angels to remove Lot and his family from the immoral city where they lived (Genesis 19:15-16). “When they were safely out of the city, one of the angels ordered, ‘Run for your lives! And don’t look back or stop anywhere in the valley! Escape to the mountains, or you will be swept away’ . . . But Lot’s wife looked back as she was following behind him, and she turned into a pillar of salt” (Genesis 19:17-26). The lesson for each of us is that we can’t walk with one foot in the world and the other in disobedience without jeopardizing eternal life. For, “Whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God” (James 4:4).

God doesn’t expect perfection from us but rather maturity in following Him in spiritual matters. Temptation can creep into our lives unexpectedly, and those who walk with Him will sense an urging or warning. Obedience to God’s commands helps us grow so that we can be effectively used in building His kingdom on earth. Jesus said, “Dear friends, don’t be afraid of those who want to kill your body; they cannot do any more to you after that. But I’ll tell you whom to fear. Fear God, who has the power to kill you and then throw you into hell. Yes, he’s the one to fear” (Luke 12:4-5).  He later continued: “Remember what happened to Lot’s wife! Whoever tries to keep their life will lose it, and whoever loses their life will preserve it” (Luke 17:32-33). When we are children, we are told never to run out in the street chasing a toy that gets away from us. As with a child who disobeys the warnings of those in authority, we do the same with God’s instruction. Charles Stanley says, “The bottom line in the Christian life is obedience and most people don’t even like the word.” Like the youngster, we may first learn to submit out of fear or consequence. Later we understand to look before we leap, realizing that the warnings we have been given are for our own good. It is then that the Great Physician is confident that we have kept His commands out of love and that we are right for Him.

REFLECTION: Can you recall warnings in your own life that you questioned the authority? In what ways might you “test the spirits to see whether they are from God” (1 John 4:1)?

A NEW LOOKUP  DEVOTION IS UPLOADED EACH WEEK. THE NEXT WEEKLY POSTING WILL BE ON SAT., SEPTEMBER 24, 2016.  COMMENTS ARE WELCOMED.