Sacrificial Obedience

In Mark 1, as Jesus was beginning His ministry in the Galilee region, He came across Peter and Andrew. They had their fishing nets in hand and it says they were actively catching fish. In Verses 17-18 Jesus said to them, “‘Come with me, and I will teach you to catch people.’ At once they left their nets and went with him” (GNT). They didn’t walk away from their nets when they were empty. They didn’t walk it while they were having success. Leaving an empty net behind is often a relief, but to leave a full one is surrendered obedience. They didn’t think twice. They walked away from their nets comfort of something they had known their whole life simply because Jesus called them.

In 1 Kings 19, the prophet Elijah had his mountain top moment with God, and then he was told to go pick his successor. He came upon Elisha while he was plowing a field. Elijah put his cloak on him and immediately Elisha jumped off the oxen and asked to say goodbye to his family. Verse 21 says, “Then Elisha went to his team of oxen, killed them, and cooked the meat, using the yoke as fuel for the fire. He gave the meat to the people, and they ate it. Then he went and followed Elijah as his helper.” Again, this person obeyed in the middle of success. He didn’t try to finish the job or ask questions about where he was going. Instead, he sacrificed what had been his security, blessed everyone around him and followed God’s call.

In Luke 9:23 Jesus said, “If you want to come with me, you must forget yourself, take up your cross every day, and follow me.” It’s easy to follow Him when we’re at a dead end job, have nothing going on or are disgruntled where we are. Can you take up your cross and follow Him when you’re having success, surrounded by people you like and with things going well? That’s a true sacrifice of obedience. It’s much more difficult to do. We must learn to deny ourselves (let go of what’s working), take up our cross every day (embrace sacrificial obedience) and follow Him (move immediately when He calls). Sacrificial obedience isn’t easy, but it’s what we’re called to.

Photo by Ayush Sharma on Unsplash