Let the Beauty of Jesus be Seen in Me (Part 2)
As followers of Christ whose goal is to radiate the beauty of Jesus, we must be obedient ourselves. Not only is obedience essential to inherit eternal life (Matthew 7:21), it is also necessary to display the beauty of Jesus. Jesus was obedient, so if I am not obedient, I am nothing like Jesus. Therefore, I cannot display His beauty in my life. The point seems simple enough, but why is obedience so important concerning demonstrating the beauty of Jesus in my life? When we are obedient, we are conveying an important message both to ourselves and to those around us. When we are obedient to God, our actions claim that a love for God is worth more than a love for the world and the things therein. What is so beautiful about sweating blood, nails being hammered into flesh, and a crown of thorns being crammed onto the precious Lamb of God? Jesus’ love for God: “But so that the world may know that I love the Father, I do exactly as the Father commanded Me…” (John 14:31, NASB 95). His beautiful example shows that there is nothing on this earth that is more valuable than loving God through obedience (John 14:15). When we obey God, we show ourselves and the world that same message.
Think back to the illustration we began with in part 1 of this article. It is appealing that a child obeys his mother and father, but how much more so when that child obeys out of love and respect for their parents? It’s a beautiful thing! When we obey God out of love and respect for Him, we display the beauty of Jesus in our lives. In doing this, we not only please God and Jesus, we also share Jesus to the world by our example. Dear brothers and sisters, may we truly “let the beauty of Jesus be seen in our obedience.”