- BY ADMIN
- 28 JANUARY, 2020
“If you love me, you will keep my commandments.” – John 14:15
The general concept behind obedience to God throughout the Scriptures is to be dutiful and submissive to the higher authority of God. Obedience to God is an act of worship. Biblical scriptures lay strong emphasis on following God’s words. If a believer has faith in God, obedience exhibits his practice of living by faith and obeying the teachings of the Bible, as shown in The Ten Commandments and many other ways. Real obedience to God implies that we truly hear, trust, submit and surrender to God and his Word. Our behavior should be respectful; we should immerse ourselves in His word and keep our thoughts pure. As the saying goes, God is God and we are not.
With our practice of obedience, the Lord promises fullness of life and the blessings of the Lord. Moreover, a true believer gains spirituality and receives the Holy Spirit’s power by obeying. Getting closer to God gives us divine power and strength to live with hope and faith. With perseverance, courage, resilience and all the virtues, we learn to get through adversity. Consequently, we gain divine wisdom, live in peace and uprightness even in the midst of the storms of life.
“But he who practices the truth comes to the Light, so that his deeds may be manifested as having been wrought in God.” – John 3:21
How Do You Know It’s God Calling You?
God’s call is, simply put, to live virtuously in the circumstances of our respective lives. Each challenge is a call, therefore. God’s calls require intelligent responses as well as a virtuous one. When God calls us and demands for us to do something, it may perplex us. Since the meaning of the spiritual vision lacks clarity, it may make us more confused and disoriented. This requires us to persist in spending time with God; the more we contemplate, the more we recognize His voice and His commands. Learning God’s voice becomes clearer through praying and studying God’s Word in the Scriptures. Moreover, trusting God leads to obedience. When we act on our trust by obeying God’s command, we become fruit-bearers, not to bring glory to ourselves but to glorify our Father in heaven. By trusting God’s will, we submit ourselves to God’s calling.
True believers can learn to recognize that God is calling them by developing characteristics of a truly spiritual person. They fear the Lord and stand in awe and reverence of God. They speak God’s Word, think, speak, live and act accordingly to God’s command. A spiritual person has openness; they are patient listeners as well as powerful thinkers. They face diversity with patience and fortitude and take these circumstances as learning experiences. Instead of complaining, they practice humility, faith, and courage. Humility is a sign of spiritual strength. Humility shows our willingness to submit to the will of God; it helps us to develop gratitude for His blessings and acknowledgment of His divine help. When we humbly trust God, we recognize the authority of God and His power. Humility allows us to strive to be obedient, obey and serve God diligently.
As God-fearing people develop spiritual transformation, they gain spiritual wisdom, knowledge and understanding of God’s command. They begin to comprehend God’s words’ meaning and learn to act upon them. Having faith, trust, and obedience to God, they speak God’s Words of truth in their dealings with other people. Moreover, spiritual people recognize their faults and strive to improve themselves and their world. They don’t compare themselves to others. Rather, they make efforts to gain perfection to improve personal relationships and the social life around them.
Obedient Christians guard their hearts from evil things that come against their faith. These could be evil thoughts, doubts and temptations, even addictions, that continue to creep into our hearts, distract our faith and cause uncertainty in our lives. Since our hearts are fragile, we can protect them by instilling spiritual wisdom and knowledge in them. By doing so, we develop a purpose in life to gain wisdom. Consequently, we learn to walk in peace and uprightness.
About the Book
The concept of obedience is well shown in the book “I Am Mary”, written by Thomas Atzberger. He introduces readers to different aspects of Mary’s life and times. The book allows readers to gain insight into the life of Mary’s everyday life, introducing us through quiet observation to her childhood and family and how she responded to such day-to-day, normal events as worship and friendship, holidays, and challenges of womanhood. The chapters on the early life of Mary give us, by extension, insight into the home life of our Lord Jesus when he was on earth.
The book describes the vision Mary received during the visit by the Angel Gabriel. It was a vision that astounded her. The vision was about the birth of an extraordinary child. God has chosen Mary as being a blessed woman. She will conceive and bear a child who will be considered holy and will be called the Son of God. By reading the book, you will know that Mary, a devout girl, showed her utter devotion to God. Mary surrendered herself to God’s command and is known as a living sacrifice. The virtuous life of Mary sets for us an example to develop qualities that help us lead a morally good life.
To further know and learn more about the virtuous life of Mary, read this unique religious narrative fiction. The novel, I Am Only Mary reveals Mary’s life and character. It makes Mary accessible to us as a fellow Christian, emphasizing her humanity and her virtuous living of the call God gave to her. The book can be read by anyone who has a deep interest in knowing the life journey of Mary and her pious qualities, or even the culture of her times. It depicts the power of her, and our, obedience to God.
About the Author
Thomas Atzberger is a retired lawyer from Columbus, Ohio, and has been married to his wife Christina since 1970, with three adult children. Thomas is an attorney by training and is a retired supervisor of stockbrokers. Thomas spent the years from 1964 to 1967 in the college level of the Catholic seminary of the Cleveland Diocese, named for St. Charles Borromeo.
His faith has always been his guiding star. His inspiration for this work came from his life experience as a husband, father, uncle, neighbor, and relative of many in his extended family. His sentiment is that we find our vocations in our daily lives and work out our salvation.
It was just the same for Mary. Thomas Atzberger aims to make this religious fiction a fascinating, original prose meditation for the readers. The book explores the culture of the times during the life of Mary, the mother of Jesus. It provides unique knowledge about Mary’s life that makes Mary’s biography interesting for the readers. Since there is a little history of her actual life, this meditation brings her close to us.
Specific pieces of information
The book is full of symbolic praise of Mary’s character. However, some chapters are unique, as they offer the reader an insight into Mary’s everyday life. Fortunately, there is one exceptional chapter in the book. It’s one of the book’s well-written chapters. “The Village” depicts Mary’s day-to-day living. The author describes Mary’s daily learning to help her mother He sends a message to all of the readers, which basically states that everyone should live life. Not just that, but he also shows how various members of the village persevere in loving God.