Application vs. Obedience

“It doesn’t really apply to me”. Do you remember saying those words? I do. In the emerging culture of the Baby-Buster/ Mosaic generations a high premium has been placed on things that are applicable and relevant to our everyday lives. More so than any other generation in the history of America we are willing to look beyond convention and norms to find what we deem valuable. Look around: satellite radio, internet, 250 TV channels. We have taken the templates of the Baby Boomers and we have customized and tweaked them until they fit our own needs.

Unfortunately we have done the same with the words of God. The Bible has become one voice amongst a myriad of cultural influences that all seek to shape how we spend our time and what we do with our lives. What would happen if we began to read God’s words with a fervent expectation that God is already moving, and through obedience we can join Him?

Let’s start with the premise that God’s word is always true and it always applies to every life. With this assumption in place, suddenly we no longer need to wonder if a particular passage applies to our lives, but rather, we start to ask God how we can obey Him. Instead of sifting through scripture to find what we can apply, we begin to simply obey God.

“Surrender is the proof of conviction.” -Barna

When God says, “Take care of widows and orphans” we no longer say “Well, I don’t really know any widows or orphans, so I guess this passage doesn’t apply”, but rather, we go find widows and orphans so that we can obey God by taking care of them. When God says, “Share with My people who are in need. Practice hospitality.” we obey God by finding out who has needs rather than saying, “I don’t really know any of God’s people who are in need, so I guess this passage doesn’t apply.” When you simply seek to obey, you don't have room for questioning application.

“You devote yourself to doing what you believe is the highest priority if life. Sometimes you may protest that you’re a victim of circumstances or others’ expectations, but your choices reflect what you believe to be most important.” -Barna

-Ethan Wiekamp