The Pleasure of Obedience

UV 971/10,000 The Pleasure of Obedience “And the Holy Spirit descended on Him in bodily form like a dove. And a voice came from heaven, “ You are my Son, whom I love, with you I am well pleased.” Luke 3 v 22 The greatest honour and glory a man can receive is to hear from the Lord God, “ You are my beloved son or daughter with whom I am really pleased.” Our purpose is not to live for our own pleasure or to please ourselves or those who are near and dear to us but our purpose is to please the Father in heaven. According to the Constitution of the country, a person occupies a particular office during the pleasure of the President. Similarly, we live for the pleasure of the Lord God. Jehovah expressed His pleasure with His first born Son Jesus on seeing how He obeyed Him. In obedience, Jesus humbled Himself to become a baby born in a manger. In obedience to prophetic instruction, He humbled Himself to be baptised in the waters of Jordan by His forerunner, His herald, John the Baptist who was apparently much less in greatness than Him. When we humble ourselves and submit in obedience to the Word and the leading of the Lord in all the details of our daily lives, we too will hear the voice of the Lord God, endorsing us as His beloved children. After Jesus obeyed the waters of baptism that would foreshadow His own death, burial and destruction, the Lord God sent the Holy Spirit for the first time in bodily form like a dove. A dove is a symbol of gentleness and peace. When we obey the Lord and His Word like Jesus, we too will be anointed with the Holy Spirit and we will reflect His character of gentleness and peace in our lives. We experience the selfless, agape love of the Creator, Maker and Repairer, Saviour and Redeemer, Provider and Protector, Vindicator and Potter. When we pray, heaven itself will open and the Lord will hear our every submission. One of the implications of this uni-verse is that every believer once He comes into a faithful and personal relationship with God through Jesus needs to obey the Lord in submitting to the waters of baptism. Once we are baptised in water, we come out of the shadow of bondage to satan, the shadow of Egypt. The Lord as a mark of His being pleased with us will send the Holy Spirit to anoint us, to comfort, strengthen and to lead us. Before this, we only heard our inner voice or our own conscience but after we are anointed with the Holy Spirit, we will hear the voice of God. He will direct our steps. Prateep V Philip