Faith, Trust and Obedience

I’ve been reading the book, The Cost of Discipleship, by Dietrich Bonhoeffer, and the second chapter is titled The Call of Discipleship. The main point of the chapter, as Bonhoeffer puts it, is, “only he who believes is obedient, and only he who is obedient believes” (p. 63). Also, he says, “…faith is only real when there is obedience, never without it, and faith only becomes faith in the act of obedience,” and, “Without this preliminary step of obedience our faith will only be pious humbug…Everything depends on the first step…The first step of obedience makes Peter leave his nets, and later get out of the ship…This first step must be regarded to start with as an external work, which effects the change from one existence to another.” You get the idea.

Further, Jesus says in his illustration of the wise and foolish builders, “He who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who builds his house on the rock” (Matthew 7:24-27). James also writes, “In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.”

God often asks us to trust Him. Sometimes we know exactly what we must do and other times we’re not sure, but we know that we are not to do something else. My thesis is about trust in dating relationships, and trust is based on our confidence that someone will respond positively to our needs. For example, I would trust my girlfriend when she shows that she cares for my physical and emotional well being and is willing to act on that care by keeping promises, listening to my problems and just being there. In my experience, the relationship with God is much the same. Matthew 6:33 one more time: “But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness…” For me that means taking Tuesday and Thursday mornings away from the bustle and demands of academic life and spending those minutes with Him. For others it will be different, but the call is to act and to follow.

One more illustration from one of my favorite films: The Matrix. You may remember that near the end of the film, Neo has to make a choice. As he put it, “Morpheus believed something and he was ready to give his life for what he believed. I understand that now. That’s why I have to go. I believe something.”
“What?”
“I believe I can bring him back.”

What would have happened if Neo believed and did nothing? Nothing would have happened! But instead he goes into the matrix, rescues Morpheus, gets the girl and becomes the person he was destined to be. It was in his doing, the acting on the belief that made the difference.

If we believe in God, if we believe He is in control, that He can be known, and wants to know us, what keeps us from acting on our belief? Often that’s the difference.