by Doug Bing, Washington Conference president
Do you like watching marriage proposals? The internet is filled with videos of marriage proposals.
Some of them are quite funny to watch as people propose in some rather unique places. There are proposals where people lose the ring into the water. Or ones where they fall over in their excitement.
There is usually several things in common in all of them.
First of all the people in the videos are in love and are excited for the future together.
The second thing that is also quite important is waiting to hear the answer.
Is the answer yes? That is what people are waiting to hear. Sometimes you hear it as YES is squealed loudly. Other times you hear it a muffled yes as they are hugging each other tightly. Other times it is seen in a vigorous nodding of the head. But yes is always what is being looked for in every proposal.
It is these same two things that are needed in our walk with God. First of all being in love with God and second of all saying yes to God.
Brother Andrew was known as the Smuggler for God. He risked his life multiple times smuggling Bibles and religious material behind the Iron Curtain during those repressive times. He wrote these words about the call of God on his life and saying yes.
Whenever, wherever, however You want me, I’ll go. And I’ll begin this very minute. Lord as I stand up from this place, and as I take my first step forward, will You consider this is a step toward complete obedience to You? I’ll call it the step of yes.
In our Christian walk with God two things are also needed. Being fully in love and committed to God and saying yes to God. Yes in whatever He asks.
Paul in writing to the Romans uses strong words that show the completeness of us saying yes to God.
Do you not know that to whom you present yourselves slaves to obey, you are that one’s slaves whom you obey, whether of sin leading to death, or of obedience leading to righteousness?
The idea of being a slave with all the connotations is not one that is welcome. However it does illustrate how complete our commitment needs to be to God. Paul also wrote of this daily saying yes when he said “I die daily,” (I Cor. 15:31).