I’m just following orders… In the military or in the field of Law Enforcement, we often will have the response “I’m just following orders.” This is because it is exactly what needs to happen in order to insure the successful completion of the assigned task. There is no room for discussion, no need to question. We simply trust the legitimacy of the orders and we carry them out to the best of our ability. Jesus was sent here to complete a task. His instructions were to be followed to the letter. His task was not open for discussion. There was no reason to question His Superior. Jesus tells us that we have the same orders, the same mission and hopefully the same result. “Then Jesus cried out and said, ‘He who believes in Me, believes not in Me but in Him who sent Me. And he who sees Me sees Him who sent Me. I have come as a light into the world, that whoever believes in Me should not abide in darkness. And if anyone hears My words and does not believe, I do not judge him; for I did not come to judge the world but to save the world. He who rejects Me, and does not receive My words, has that which judges him—the word that I have spoken will judge him in the last day. For I have not spoken on My own authority; but the Father who sent Me gave Me a command, what I should say and what I should speak. And I know that His command is everlasting life. Therefore, whatever I speak, just as the Father has told Me, so I speak.’” John 12:44-50(NKJV) When operating in the field, there is no time to question your instructions or even who or where they come from. You simply trust your superiors and move in the direction you have been told to move. Jesus was fully aware of what His Father wanted from Him. He knew that He was not sent here to judge the world, but to offer the world a chance of redemption. He attempted to explain His mission to those questioning His authority, and what was required of them to be part of His efforts to defeat the ultimate enemy, death. There does not seem to be any room to question God’s authority, or the commands of Jesus to believe in Him. It seems that it’s a no-brainer that we are to believe the words spoken by our Lord and Savior. When we make the choice to believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, we are just beginning the process of following Him. We are taking the first step onto the battlefield, grabbing our gear and rushing into the fight. We can have confidence through our beliefs that God has our back. But with any battle, you have the rules of engagement. These are to be adhered to regardless of the situation, regardless of our feelings or our emotions. These are the things the Apostles teach us throughout the New Testament. We are ordered, commanded to love God and our neighborhood with all our heart. We are also instructed on just how to do this with a fullness of compassion. We cannot change our orders to make them easier to follow. We must strictly adhere to these commands in order to reap the benefits of victory. Nothing less will bring about an end to the conflict. Think of it this way, you are in the middle of a fight, and suddenly someone wants to take a break and stop fighting for a few minutes. The gift of free will gives us the opportunity to make this decision. But what does that do to the progression of the fight? How does this impact our fellow Christian soldiers? How does this change the chance at a victory? Jesus, after His crucifixion, appeared before the disciples and spoke these words. “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Matthew 28:18-20 Christians need to remember that our fight is not over until we reach our eternal home. We need to stick to the battle plan and follow orders in order to see it through to the end. We need to give God our best, because He gave us His. We need to follow orders. “in the world, not of the world”
Posted on: Thu, 29 Aug 2013 12:51:45 +0000
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