This Is LoveSample

Maybe you’ve had what is referred to in Christian culture as a “mountain top experience.” It’s one of those times when the atmosphere at a Christian camp or conference is charged, and you feel an intimacy with God like never before.

While those scared and powerful moments can fire up the engine of your faith, intimacy with God is not limited to those times when hundreds gather, the lighting is perfect, and the worship team hits the right chords.

No, intimacy with God is lived out in the ordinary, everyday, humdrum, often mundane moments of our lives.

God calls you and me to walk in obedience to Him where He has placed us. This means running the race He has called each of us to.

A close friendship with God requires we follow Him despite the cost because the prize is invaluable. Obedience to God is core to walking closely with Him. Intimacy with God creates a radically counter-cultural life. Let me give you some practical examples:

If you’re a student and the rest of the class is cheating its way through tests, obedience may look like hunkering down and studying while everyone else is partying it up.

If you’re in the corporate world and your colleagues are cutting corners, obedience may look like working as unto God and not unto man, even if your reward is not immediately evident.

If you’re a mom and the other moms in your group of friends believe that endlessly complaining about their kids is the best way to destress, then obedience to God may look like wiping dirty countertops and runny noses with a heart of gratitude.

You can’t conform to the world and expect to share a close walk with God. He calls us to present ourselves as living sacrifices, holy and acceptable to Him.

Jesus modeled this obedience to the Father and presented Himself as the ultimate sacrifice for our sins.

This is love—that Jesus obeyed the Father and went to the Cross for our sin. May we respond to His love.

Lean In

Father God, Walking in obedience to You is not always easy or comfortable, but thank You that Your Spirit empowers me for whatever You call me to. Thank You for Jesus and the perfect example of obedience and sacrifice He set by going to the Cross and laying down His life for us. Father, when the temptation to think and speak and act like the culture around me is strong, may I remember that He who is within me is greater than he who is in the world. In Jesus’ name. Amen.