April 20 – Simple Faith and Implicit Obedience

“And every one that hath forsaken houses, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for My name’s sake, shall receive an hundredfold, and shall inherit everlasting life.”—Matthew 19:29 (KJV)

Many are deeply convicted of the truth, yet hesitate to step forward because of resistance from a spouse or family member. But how can someone who shares in the fellowship of Christ’s sufferings refuse to obey His will or to do His work?

It is through walking the path of obedience with simple, trusting faith that character is perfected. Christ has promised power sufficient to reach His high standard. He declared:“And whatsoever ye shall ask in My name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If ye shall ask any thing in My name, I will do it. If ye love Me, keep My commandments. And I will pray the Father, and He shall give you another Comforter, that He may abide with you for ever; even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive” (John 14:13–17, KJV).

Pause and consider this promise. Why can’t the world receive the Spirit of truth? “Because it seeth Him not, neither knoweth Him” (John 14:17, KJV). The world rejects the truth because it does not wish to obey it. Shall I, who see the light, close my heart to its saving power simply because the world loves darkness rather than light? Will I choose to be bound among the bundles of tares just because my neighbors reject being gathered with the wheat?

Shall I turn from the clear evidence of truth that leads to obedience because friends or relatives choose the path of disobedience, which separates them from God? Will I close my mind to the knowledge of truth just because those around me refuse to open theirs to the light as it is in Jesus? Should I stop growing in grace and in the knowledge of my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ because others are content to remain spiritual dwarfs?

We cannot overestimate the value of a simple, childlike faith and wholehearted, unreserved obedience.