Proper Pronouns
Whether it is good, or whether it is evil, we will obey the voice of Jehovah our God, to whom we send you; so that it may be well with us when we obey the voice of Jehovah our God. Jeremiah 42:6
Our God – A strange thing happens when you move from verse 5 to this verse. In verse 5, the people refer to Jeremiah’s God as “your God.” They say that they are ready to obey all that “your God” will tell them. But, when they repeat the idea in verse 6, the pronoun changes. Once obedience enters the picture, “your God” becomes “our God” (eloheikha becomes eloheinu). This tiny shift is worth contemplating. Until I obey, I cannot call God my God. He is simply the God of someone else. But when obedience becomes the basis of my relationship with Him, then He becomes my God.
Dallas Willard brings home this point in his book, The Great Omission. Christianity has forgotten that obedience – discipleship – is not optional. It is not something that I add to forgiveness. Forgiveness is not earned. It is given. My only proper response is obedience. And only when God is the Lord of my life do I experience the truth about forgiveness. God does not forgive so that I can get a pass on sin. He forgives so that I can obey. He forgives so that I can make a deliberate choice to become His slave for life – and the life of a slave is one of constant obedience. Real Christianity requires the proper application of the possessive pronoun. God is not mine until I serve Him.
Of course, if we lived in the culture of the ancient near-East, we would not have to go through this explanation. In those days, the land was ruled by kings. I had no protection, no rights and no status unless I lived under the rule of a king. To be a “free” man was a terrible thing for it meant that I lived without royal protection of a sovereign. My life depended on alliance with a ruling lord.
Unfortunately, our spiritual views have shifted with our political ones. Now we think that all men desire freedom. We think that God should run a democracy. We view God as a presidential advisor rather than an absolute dictator. What a mess such thinking causes! We no longer see that slavery is the only real freedom and that obedience is the only real protection. We act as though we can go it alone. The only one in the Bible who had such a twisted view of reality was Cain, and even he pleaded for God’s protection.
Reconsider your personal application of the possessive pronoun. Is God really your God? Are you committed to absolute obedience to Him, whether it seems good or evil to you? Are you ready to follow His instructions, no matter what the cost? Forgiveness is not the end of the story. It isn’t even the purpose of redemption. It is simply the starting point. Right?
