The day is burned into my memory. My dad hit the brakes and stopped his blue Chevy Silverado pickup truck. Just past the turn-off from the paved highway onto our mile-long dirt road, he pulled over and said, “You’re driving!” For good reason, I trusted him and didn’t hesitate to do what he’d said. He had never let me down before. I jumped into the driver’s seat and drove that old baby-blue tank all the way home, looking through the half moon shape of the upper part of the steering wheel. I was 10.
Childlike faith is the wonder and awe at what Christ did for us. It is a powerful combination of trust, hope, and unpretentiousness that knows the Father loves us and will lead us. Many days we want him lead us into bigger things when we are not yet consistent with the basic things. We want new instruction when we’ve not yet obeyed his primary instruction. The exciting mountain top encounters which are sure to come in the life of a true disciple of Jesus are built upon the foundation of a million small stones of obedience.
And they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers. And awe came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were being done through the apostles. And all who believed were together and had all things in common. And they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need. And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts, praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved. Acts 2:42-47
The young converts in the early church in Jerusalem (at least 3,000 strong) were not seeking information, they had all the information they needed. Jesus had resurrected from the dead. Any teaching that emphasizes knowledge over obedience rarely makes disciples who are committed to the good of the body of Christ. At MULTIPLi our aim is to help those who believe to obey, with glad hearts, without delay. In light of the dead man who had come back to life, the early disciples simply obeyed like children. Their lives became powerful living illustrations of His life and love.
In the coming weeks here on this blog, we’re going to explore the seven basic commands of Jesus that every true believer will be overjoyed to obey. Like the seven major notes on a piano that are used to play music, Chopsticks as well as Fur Elise, there are seven basic commands of Christ that will establish our lives to be an instrument of multiplication for the Kingdom of Heaven. These are not for the graduate level believers; these are Christianity 101. Yet, we never graduate from the urgency of obeying these seven commands:
- Repent and Receive
- Be Baptized
- Love Neighbors
- Pray Daily
- Give Consistently
- Worship Corporately
- Teach Others.
Walt Disney says: “The real trouble with the world is that too many people grow up, they forget.” I think he’s onto something vitally important for the disciple of Christ. We forget how to trust and obey. Knowledge is not what brings transformation. Learning to be child-like is the surprising secret to maturity. Learning to look at “Dad,” as I did that day on that mile-long dirt road, and think, “Whatever you say, I’ll do it!” is the way to grow up into the full measure of Christ. When childlike faith becomes a reality, simple acts of obedience take hold of our daily habits and our lives become very very powerful. Stay with us as we look at these seven basic commands of Christ together and return to child-like faith.
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