Obedience and following Jesus

I was reading yesterday about the driverless Google cars that have recently been spotted on public roads. The article noted that those vehicles are programmed to obey every single traffic law. 

And yet, those Google cars have been in crashes. Do you know what those crashes were credited to? Human error. One crash took place when a Google car stopped at a crosswalk (as it was supposed to) and was rear-ended by someone.

It was noted in the article that if the Google vehicles are to survive on the road with humans who are constantly pushing the limit of the law, the driverless vehicles will have to be reprogrammed to do the same. Obeying the law completely will only cause problems.

It's that way in life, isn't it? God has give us His Law but there's never been a single person who has obeyed it completely (except, of course, Jesus). In fact, some of those who claim to follow Jesus never intend to get too serious about complying with God's Word. As far as they are concerned, "salvation" keeps them out of Hell but doesn't call them to holiness.

So, what happens when God's Word is spoken and compliance is expected? We see the answer in John 6:66-69.

In John 6:66, we see that when the rubber meets the road and push comes to shove, some "disciples" will abandon Jesus. They don't want to hear the truth about their lack of compliance with God's standard. When compliance is demanded, they get offended and leave.

In John 6:67-69, we see that there will be some who have come to truly believe that Jesus is who He says He is and even though He often proclaims truth that requires major paradigm shifts and life adjustments, they can't imagine going anywhere else. 

John 6:66-69

66 After this many of his disciples turned back and no longer walked with him. 67 So Jesus said to the Twelve, “Do you want to go away as well?” 68 Simon Peter answered him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life, 69 and we have believed, and have come to know, that you are the Holy One of God.”

So, what's your relationship with Jesus like? Have you put your complete trust in Him to forgive your sin debt against a holy God? If so, are you studying His Word and being confronted with truth that requires you to change your thinking, attitudes or behavior? Are you making those adjustments?

A true follower of Jesus will periodically be confronted with truth from God's Word that is difficult to swallow and obey but they'll make the adjustments because their relationship to Jesus is so precious that they will want to comply no matter how difficult.