Remember obedience is nothing more than the HUMAN APPROACH to the mightiest of Revelations. We do indeed enter into the identification of Jesus by the door of obedience and faith, but the oneness is a revelation; an identity cemented in our being. As we look at Jesus as our example then and not the do's and don'ts we rest on the conclusion that Jesus was not a being that became Divine; He was the Godhead incarnated. When we approach people with an unbalanced attempt to have them obey before they have received the purpose of it thru Christ's walk with them first, we miss the point. And our effort becomes dogmatic.Point the finger to Jesus and do it with grace knowing He has your back.
It is not one of the many things we need to copy of Jesus it is the all of Jesus we need to become, not immolate. It is easy to be passionate, easy to be thrilled with the time Jesus spent with you in the bible over The vow of man to wife and wife to man, but it takes a heart in love with Jesus Christ to put YOUR FEET in His footprints, and to square the life to a steady going "Up to Jerusalem with Him." Remember if you find yourself having to defend yourself are you doing it because God has given you the message thru the Word, and thus you need not defend it personally except by way of the Word! Or is it because you have been caught up in it personally, losing then the slow to speak;peace God would never have you leave.
I see Discipline as one of the main things we as Christians fall short of sometimes. By my identification being not that of my rights thru Christ but simply my right to be Christ-like God has given me an experience of His life and grace, therefore I am a law unto myself now in the New Man, the discipline of this Christian is not in order to develop my own life, but for the purposes of my Commander. I am here for one reason only; to be loyal to Jesus Christ. That is my message to myself and the message I have to give others. Jesus will do the pointing of figures to His ways. Yet, He does not point, He lifts up man kind Himself thru a Son who voluntarily bore our sins in order to have God lift man kind up to Himself and for Christ to bring God to us.
The truths of God need not be shoved down our throats, they need be procured thru an experiential tutelage Of the reflexion of our identification in Our Lord Jesus Christ. Grace rules when we know we are not the one involved in the fight for righteousness for others. We need only point the truth to Him, He will point the truth within others out to obedience.
To Lion I would also add, it is good to go to God with prayer as you said, but remember to go as a blank slate to God, you stated an agenda of wanting to... "see him as a good guy so as to...." earlier in the threads. Jesus is the premise for those teaching and those listening, drop off the agenda at the door Jesus may reinforce your original idea or He may reverse the trend, but let Him be the one you are identified with!
