February 26

“ . . . though he was a Son, yet learned obedience by the things which he suffered.” Hebrews 5:8

Inasmuch as rebellion came from created beings, so obedience must now be established among them. Man sinned by rebelling; therefore, the authority of God must be erected anew on man’s obedience.

This explains why the Lord Jesus came into the world and was made one with created men. He did so, and then brake the long tradition of human independence by walking humbly in the way of obedience to God. Please note that he did not merely bring obedience to the earth; he learned it in practice—and he did so through suffering.

We too may learn to practice obedience by the same means. Our usefulness is determined not by whether we have suffered, but by how much obedience we have learned as we walked with our Lord Jesus in that suffering. Those alone are useful to God who have learned, at whatever cost, to obey him.