“Only he who believes is obedient, and only he who is obedient believes.”
PSALM 65-67
ROMANS 2
JOURNAL
This chapter is difficult, but necessary. It reveals something that strikes deep...we were never meant to wield the judgment of God. That role is not ours to take. When we condemn others, we are not just overstepping our bounds, we are misusing the very power God entrusted to us for love and truth. Human judgment is flawed because it operates from a heart that has not been fully purified. Only God sees with perfect justice.
Paul's words in Romans are clear and convicting. He says that when we pass judgment on others, we condemn ourselves, because we are guilty of doing the same things. The ground is level at the foot of the cross. We are reminded that God's judgment is based on truth, but His kindness is meant to lead us to repentance. That kindness is not permission to remain blind, it is an invitation to return.
When I read Psalm 66, I see that David understood something we often miss. He praised God not just for the blessings, but for the testing. He said God refined His people like silver, brought them through prison, fire, and water, and then brought them to a place of abundance. There was purpose in every burden. God was not absent in the suffering. He was shaping His people through it.
This is where Bonhoeffer's words come alive. He said that only the one who believes is obedient, and only the one who is obedient believes. Faith and obedience are inseparable. True belief expresses itself through surrender. And obedience cannot flourish apart from trust in the One who commands it.
I see in myself a pattern that must be broken. I continue to hope that a perfect set of circumstances will finally bring joy or peace. But that kind of hope is misplaced. No circumstance, no worldly success, no resolution of difficulty can satisfy the soul. If it ever appears to, it is only a shadow, a temporary illusion that fades. Lasting joy is not the result of things going my way. It is the fruit of a life yielded to God and fixed on Him alone.
Jesus said it plainly. Whoever wants to be His disciple must deny themselves, take up their cross, and follow Him. Whoever wants to save their life will lose it. But whoever loses their life for His sake will find it. There is no wiggle room in those words. They are the call to a deeper life, not an easier one.
Judging others and rebelling against God may look different on the outside, but they share the same root. Both are rooted in pride and a refusal to surrender. But when we choose to trust, when we choose to yield to God's refining fire and walk humbly with Him, we are led into something far better than we could have created on our own.
Obedience is not about rule-following. It is about relationship. It is not cold duty, it is the warmth of love responding to love. It is the path to abundance, not because life becomes easier, but because we finally know who holds it all together.
