What thing could God tell you to give up that would be too much? What command could the Lord give you that, were he to do so, you would walk away? Where do you think, as a creature, that you have the right to tell your Creator “no?”
There seems to be a line in the thinking of most people where, if we do not check it, we will say to God that he has pushed us too far. There seems to be a place in our hearts that, if we are not careful, we will simply tell the Lord that we are unwilling to obey him. Often we will couch our defiance in the guise of inability rather than unwillingness, but the result is the same. We know what God wants, we know what is right, and we simply refuse.
Imagine the turmoil that must have racked Abraham when God chose to test his loyalty. God called Abraham to offer his son up as a human sacrifice. Those of us who read the Scriptures know that God did not ask Abraham to follow through with this impossibly hard call—he never intended to—but Abraham did not know it at the time.
Genesis 22:1-3 – 1 After these things God tested Abraham and said to him, “Abraham!” And he said, “Here am I.” 2 He said, “Take your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I shall tell you.” 3 So Abraham rose early in the morning, saddled his donkey, and took two of his young men with him, and his son Isaac. And he cut the wood for the burnt offering and arose and went to the place of which God had told him.
What do we see from Abraham. God places an unbearable command on Abraham’s shoulders. What does Abraham do? All we see is that Abraham got up early the next day, gathered supplies, and started out on his journey to obey.
Think of what could have happened. Abraham could have argued. He could have accused God of wrong. He could have simply said, ‘I can’t do it.” But we see none of that at all.
Now, consider how often we simply tell God that he has asked too much. Perhaps—and this is an off-the-cuff example—there is a person living lonely, and they decide to enter into a marriage forbidden by Scripture. Is that not a case of a person telling God, “I know that you have a standard you are calling me to, and I simply have decided that your command is too hard; I will not obey.” Or, go in an opposite direction and consider a Christian in a difficult marriage, but one that does not meet the biblical standards for divorce. When that person says to God that they just have to get out no matter what he has commanded, is that not them making a statement about how much of their lives God is allowed to have? Or, what about the man who is battling lust? He knows that clicking that site on his computer will dishonor God, but at the time, he has decided that God’s authority just cannot stretch to cover his urges.
Even consider what is being said to us now about those who deal with the hardships of same-sex attraction or gender identity issues. Do we not see many people saying that, regardless of the commands of God, no person can be expected to live a celibate life. That is the command too far. That is the area over which we cannot allow God to have authority. That would be too much.
Hear me, I have no desire to be cruel or harsh to any person struggling with any of the sins that I just used as examples. But, I would say that we must recognize that those are the kinds of areas in which we can see a person evaluate their lives and declare that they simply will not obey—God has asked too much. And while we deeply sympathize with these struggles, understanding the pain and the difficulty of what is happening, we cannot pretend that to disobey the commands of God is OK.
Now, Christians, put on your mental brakes. For many of us, there may be a lot of amens ringing in our brains. If you are not battling one of the examples above, you are probably thinking that that stuff really needs to be said—and it does. But, what about you and me? The things I mentioned above feel like big issues. They feel like things that are really big deals. How, then, do we look back at our own lives and our own failures in areas that are not nearly so big, not nearly so hard, not nearly so painful, but which are still places where we deny the lordship of Christ?
We know that God commands us to love one another and to avoid gossip. How often, in our lives, is that the line we just are unwilling to stay behind? We know that God commands Christians not to forsake the assembling of the saints (simply put, don’t skip regular Sunday worship). How often have we decided that this command is only one we obey if it is not a hardship? We know that God has commanded husbands to love their wives as Christ loves the church. How often do we decide that we will do so only if it fits our desires at the time? We know that God has called us to speak with kindness and respect in many relationships, but if our buttons get pushed, watch out.
Friends, my point here is not to overload us with guilt. But, I want us to grasp that, every time we disobey the commands of God, whether big or little ones in our opinion, we are telling God that he has asked too much. But God has not asked too much. He is our Lord. He is our Creator. He has saved our souls if we are followers of Christ. He is worthy of our obedience.
And, the Lord has given us what we need to enable us to live lives that please him. None of us have to sin. That is not me promoting perfectionism. It is me saying that God has made it so that we do not have to fail. Every temptation has a proper response that would keep us from dishonoring the Lord.
2 Peter 1:3 – His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence.
1 Corinthians 10:13 – No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it.
When Abraham was in his tent the night after God gave him the call to sacrifice Isaac, I’m sure he hurt deeply. The command had to feel impossible. But, Abraham showed us that obedience, even to the impossible, is actually something that, by God’s grace, we can do. If you have Christ, you can obey. If you are human, you owe God such obedience.
These thoughts should do two things to us. First, they should humble us and call us to obedience. We dare not say that there is any command God does not have the right to give us. We must be willing to obey the Lord. We must let this call us to confession, humility, and genuine repentance.
And, please, let this turn your heart to Jesus and the cross. We are all failures here. None of us have obeyed God as we should. Only Jesus has actually followed God to the edge of impossible and beyond. Jesus lived out the perfection we could not. Jesus died to pay for our rebellion. Let us see, in this convicting thought for today, that Jesus is so worthy of our praise and gratitude. Let us worship Jesus, and obey all his commands, because he is the one who gave his life to rescue us.
Pastor Travis Peterson 