What My Obedience to God Costs Other People
26 And as they led him away, they seized one Simon of Cyrene, who was coming in from the country, and laid on him the cross, to carry it behind Jesus. Luke 23:26 ESV
If we obey God it is going to cost other people more than it costs us, and that is where the sting comes in. If we are in love with our Lord, obedience does not cost us anything, it is a delight, but it costs those who do not love Him a good deal. If we obey God it will mean that other people’s plans are upset, and they will gibe us with it—“You call this Christianity?” We can prevent the suffering; but if we are going to obey God, we must not prevent it, we must let the cost be paid. (italics mine)
Our human pride entrenches itself on this point, and we say—“I will never accept anything from anyone.” We shall have to, or disobey God. We have no right to expect to be in any other relation than our Lord Himself was in (see Luke 8:2–3).
Stagnation in spiritual life comes when we say we will bear the whole thing ourselves. We cannot. We are so involved in the universal purposes of God that immediately we obey God, others are affected. Are we going to remain loyal in our obedience to God and go through the humiliation of refusing to be independent, or are we going to take the other line and say—“I will not cost other people suffering”? We can disobey God if we choose, and it will bring immediate relief to the situation, but we shall be a grief to our Lord. Whereas if we obey God, He will look after those who have been pressed into the consequences of our obedience. We have simply to obey and to leave all consequences with Him.
Beware of the inclination to dictate to God as to what you will allow to happen if you obey Him.
Chambers, Oswald (2011-05-01). My Utmost for His Highest, Classic Edition (p. 8). Discovery House Publishers. Kindle Edition.
Hmmm. . . "If we are going to obey God, we must not prevent it (suffering), we must let the cost be paid."
All sort of thoughts began to rumble through my head at this line from Chambers' entry. Gathering Tree. Mother Teresa. Celebrate Recovery. Free lunches for school children. It was a thought provoking line.
I wonder. . .
Was Chambers referring to those who had caused the suffering, not those affected by it? Example. . .Parent spends family into bankruptcy. They suffer the consequences, but still help their children.
What about Jesus' healings? Were these excluded because the suffering was not a result of any conscious act on the part of the person?
How long did he intend to allow a person to suffer? A alcoholic should never be accepted into a rehab facility since they choose to start drinking?
Should we EVER help another person whose life is out of control due to their choices?
Jump in with your thoughts no Chambers' entry.
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