The words we use matter.
Two images come to mind when I read the word “abandon.”
The first image is negative, as in an abandoned home or a person who has been left alone to fend for himself. I like the other image more, where “abandon” can mean joyfully surrendering something—like worries or a job I hate—maybe even my inhibitions. Flying down the road in a Corvette, with top down, hair and scarf flying in the wind. Hee Haw!
Then there’s “submit,” where I imagine someone bowing their head before an authority figure. Having come of age in the sixties, it’s not a concept I embrace. Which brings me to another word—“obedience.”
Oswald Chambers on Obedience
The 154th issue of Christian History is devoted to the life and faith journey of Oswald Chambers and his wife Biddy. (He called his wife, nee Gertrude Hobbs, “Beloved Disciple”—BDdy).
Born July 24, 1874 in Aberdeen Scotland, Chambers (pastor, preacher, teacher, missionary, army chaplain), died at age 43 from an appendectomy. At the time, he, Biddy, and their toddler Kathleen were ministering to the soldiers in Egypt during World War 1.
During his life, Biddy, a stenographer, wrote down in shorthand every word Oswald preached, and later collected all his writings. After his death, she published his devotional thoughts in My Utmost for His Highest, as well as several other books that contained his teachings.
In 2006, I was given a copy of My Utmost for His Highest, and I treasure the contents to this day. His observations challenge my most pious ideas and force me to think deeper.
Hence this blog about obedience.
To quote Chambers from Amy Boucher Pye’s article about him, “Obedience the Goal” in Christian History:
“We must never confuse our dreams of success with God’s purpose for us…To God, the question of achieving a goal is incidental…God is training us to obey him in the present moment, and to leave all other considerations alone. We have no control over what happens after we obey; we go wrong when we start dwelling on the ‘afterward’…”
I find this freeing. I can abandon my worries and leave outcomes to God (where they dwell anyway). Looking at obeying God in light of abandoning my will for freedom from sin and death, sure reads better that “submitting” my will to his—even if it’s the same darn thing. Submitting makes me think of limits. Abandoning makes me think of freedom—freedom in Christ.
Words matter.
