Cora and Dylan had been happily married for several years and had two children, but Cora struggled with loving her mother-in-law. “Adele loves Dylan too much,” Cora told her friend. “She thinks Dylan is perfect, well, I do too, but Adele is his mother. I’m his wife!”
Deni raised her eyebrows and shrugged. “So what’s your point?”
“The point is, I resent her,” Cora admitted.
“How long have you felt resentful?”
“A few years, but since I became a Christian, it’s like the Lord was impressing upon me to love Adele.”
“So, what did you do?”
“I argued with myself that she was unlovable, and that I had every right to resent her, but the Lord seemed to ask me if I were willing to be made willing to love Adele. Finally, I said would be willing to be made willing.”
“And then?” Cora persisted.
“And then, I got to that point. The next step was to ask the Lord to make me willing to love my mother-in-law, which I did, and then to tell her how I harbored resentment towards her, to ask forgiveness, and to tell her I loved her. Then came the hardest part.”
“What was that?”
“To obey Him. It was like He had His hand on the back of my neck until I called her,” Cora said.
“How did that go?” Deni asked.
“I told her of my resentment towards he, and she said in a quiet way, ‘I know.’ I asked for forgiveness. By this time, we both were in tears. I told her I loved her, and she told me she loved me too, and that she had loved me all along. She is such wonderful, kind, loving woman. I can’t believe I ever resented her.”
“Obedience is an act of faith, you know,” Deni said.
Cora nodded. “I know.”
This story correlates with a parable Jesus told of a landowner with two sons. The man came to the first and said, “Son, go, work today in my vineyard.”
“I will not.” But afterward, he regretted it and went to work.
Then the vineyard owner came to the second son and told him to go to work in the vineyard. The son said, “I will go, sir,” but he did not go. Jesus asked the self-righteous religious leaders which of the two sons obeyed the will of their father? They answered that the first son did. Jesus made His point – those who believe, repent and obey will enter the kingsom of God, but the self-righteous will not enter because they trusted in their own self-righteousness – not belief in and obedience to Jesus.
“And having been perfected – with perfect obedience to His Father, Jesus successfully carried out His plan of salvation – Jesus became the author of eternal salvation to all who obey Him… Hebrews 5:9
Jesus said, “This is My commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you.” John 15:12
Truly, obedience is an act of faith.