Learning Obedience
Hebrews 5:8:
“Although He was a Son, He learned obedience from the things which He
suffered.”
Observation: Do
you find it odd that God had something to learn? Isn’t He the all-knowing One,
the very Source of knowledge itself? Yet here, speaking of Jesus, the Bible
makes clear that He was previously unfamiliar with suffering. Why did He come? To identify with us so we
could more clearly see and identify with God. Yet this verse shows that the
Savior had Himself to learn obedience to the Father through the suffering He
experienced.
Application: I love the idea of a savior, of one who comes
to rescue me from pain and
affliction and the exhaustion of daily living. I want my Savior to be close. Something
within me knows I lack everything till I have gained Him. Still, when I come in
my life to the point of His own greatest learning, I work furiously to escape
identification with Him.
It is as though I am the oarsman in a canoe, desperately
paddling to escape the grip of waters rushing me ever faster toward the
precipice. But consider this: if Christ Himself had to
suffer in order to learn obedience, why should I feel exempt? Why do I consider
my own suffering as something I don’t deserve, rather than accept it as
something I need? God says He prizes my obedience above all else (see 1 Sam.
15:22). [Note
to typesetter: can use either of the two highlighted sentences—or use both
separately.]
We can try taking many shortcuts to reach full relationship
with Him, but they all lead to dead-ends. Only by walking with Him full-faced
into suffering can He deliver me through to the other side, where obedience
finally basks in His full approval.
Prayer: Lord Jesus, it’s a stunning thing to realize You had
anything yet to learn when You came to purchase me. The price You paid was
awful, but I thank You for it. Lord, I do resist suffering, yet what You have
told me to resist is the devil, because He would then flee. Forgive me for my
confusion. Thank You, Lord, that You are molding my heart into something that
desires to obey You even more than my flesh wants to avoid suffering.
