We want to believe we all know that Heaven is our home. The world, despite its attractiveness with shiny toys like cars, jewelry, fine houses, and all such, is only a journey. Some cultures refer to this world as a marketplace. And you know nobody will stay in the market after all is said and done. Jim Reeves, of blessed memory, sang with great insight that this world is not his home. He was just passing through on his way home. And in that home, the first law is obedience.
Interestingly, Jesus, our high priest, the highest of the high – had to learn obedience. He did so through suffering, as we see in Hebrews 5.8. “Though He was a Son, yet He learned obedience by the things which He suffered.”
Why would God, who has all power, allow His Son to suffer merely to learn obedience? The first reason is that Jesus did everything he did as an example for us. If Jesus is not your ultimate model, you need a change of heart. The temptation to pattern your life after a charismatic figure, like your pastor, favorite celebrity, or sportsman is great. Please do not do it.
Let Jesus be your model in all areas of life. The second reason Jesus learned obedience through suffering is that obedience is the first law in heaven. He knew that because that is where he came from, so, although the Son of God, He submitted himself to suffering. So should we. We must not suffer as evildoers but because we can learn obedience through it. And we need obedience since it is the first law in heaven.
Obedience Is The First Law In Heaven.
When God created the heavens and the earth, He made provision for all our needs before He created you and me. In other words, God anticipated every need we would ever have. That is why Jesus, God’s son, later said God knows all our needs even before we ask. “Therefore do not be like them. For your Father knows the things you have need of before you ask Him.”
What did God want in exchange for all this abundant supply? Obedience. The first law in heaven was all God demanded in exchange for such a lavish provision. Apply that to your life now. All you need for an abundant life is obedience to God. Then, ask yourself why you are not enjoying that, as I also ask myself why I am not enjoying superabundance. The answer is as simple as disobedience to the voice from heaven. It says about Jesus, “This is my beloved son in whom I am well pleased. Hear Him!” It is a command.
How are we when it comes to Jesus? Do we hear him? Have we given our lives to Jesus or are we trusting in some other person? Sometimes that other person could be ourselves as we lean on our understanding.
Man’s Last Act In Heaven.
For Adam and Eve, the command was “do not eat.” But because God made everything easy, they broke the first law in heaven. I know that when things are going smoothly is when I am the most tempted to sin. I believe it is the same for you and everybody else.
The opposite is also true. When things are tough, you do not have the time or the temptation to sin. If King David had gone to war, he would not have had time to commit the sin of adultery with Bathsheba. And that brings us to the positive problem aspect of the Christian journey. When God sees a man who tends to sin, He makes that man’s life tough and complicated.
Think back. When you were fighting for survival, how much temptation did you have in your mind? I can answer that for you. Zero. So, the problem you are experiencing right now might be God’s strategy for helping you overcome sin, which is a good thing. He is helping you keep the first law of heaven. Otherwise, God may have to throw you out of heaven the same way He threw Adam and Eve out. Disobedience became their last act in heaven before they found themselves in the world.
And while God threw them into the world at that time, the story is quite different now. Because you have already lived here on earth, the only place left is hell. At the end of life, the one who has not kept the first law of heaven finds himself or herself in hell. Learn to obey God so that hell will not be your portion.
Maranatha!
