Maybe Success is Measured Best by Nothing Less than Our Obedience?

How do we measure our success in the moment? Over a life-time? It could be any number of things: wealth, education, knowledge, fame, prestige, power; or in the opposite direction: wife, kids, a family, serving others, helping the poor and desperate, giving to charity; or in some other direction altogether. We find meaning in so many things...but which actually lead to a life of success?
I was sitting at work at few days ago listening to some music when I heard this line in a song by Jimmy Needham:

"Maybe success is measured best by nothing less than obedience..."

This particular song “The Reason I Sing,” is about his journey and struggles as a musician. When I heard that line, it was as if a montage of life experiences, lessons, and Bible verses flashed before my eyes.

It was kind of like what happened to me the other night as I was watching The Usual Suspects.

Have you ever watched one of those confusing, suspense movies where you don't quite know what's going on until the credits roll? That’s how it was for me with The Usual Suspects. At the very end, one of the main characters, a police detective, finally pieced together the puzzle that the entire movie is centered around and the movie flashed through all of these images that were going through his mind, and I had an “aha” moment, I got it.


Well that is exactly what I experienced as that simple, poignant line was sung; everything at once came together and made sense. I am convinced that we have this awful habit of overcomplicating things that don't need to be overcomplicated. Ponder with Jimmy Needham and myself the definition of a successul life, maybe it's not as complicated as we make it...maybe it is incredibly simple.
 

Let us look at the words of Jesus as he calls his disciple, Matthew:

As Jesus passed on from there, he saw a man called Matthew sitting at the tax booth, and he said to him, "follow me." And he rose and followed him. (Matthew 9:9)

And again, as Jesus calls the rich, young ruler in Luke 18:22,

"Sell all that you have and distribute to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me."

Matthew 4:19, 8:22, 10:38, 16:24, John 1:43, 21:19, 21:22 are all other examples, I encourage you to go and read all of them in context. Over and over again Jesus utters these words, follow me, to those whom he encounters and they chose to either follow or not. Within those two words lie an entire lifetime of fulfillment, satisfaction, and joy; but that satisfaction, fulfillment, and joy is not derived from anything this world has to offer. It is derived from simple obedience to a simple phrase spoken by Jesus, follow me. A simple phrase that defines a lifetime. Consider Jesus' disciples who chose to follow Jesus; they experienced an incredible life, complete, full, and rewarding while also experiencing greater physical suffering, torture, and persecution than many of us could possibly imagine. Stephen is a great example of this. In Acts 6-7, Stephen is preaching the WORD of God, obeying his calling; some of the Jews become enraged at him for his teaching. They sieze him under false charges and condemn him to death by stoning; but Stephen's attitude is not what one would expect from someone who is about to die. Here are the last moments of his life recorded in Acts 7:54-60,

Now when they heard these things they were enraged, and they ground their teeth at him. But he, full of the Holy Spirit, gazed into heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God. And he said, "Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God." But they cried out with a loud voice and stopped their ears and rushed together at him. Then they cast him out of the city and stoned him. And the witnesses laid down their garments at the feet of a young man named Saul. And as they were stoning Stephen, he called out, "Lord Jesus, receive my spirit." And falling to his knees he cried out with a loud voice, "Lord, do not hold this sin against them." And when he had said this, he fell asleep.

Do those sound like the words of a person who is distressed about their physical circumstances? As I read them, they sound more like the words of a man who has based his worth, fulfillment, joy, reward, and success in something else altogether...Namely in his Savior Jesus Christ, and his obedience of him.

Or look at Paul, who endured so much for the sake of Christ (2 Corinthians 11:23-28). Yet because he obeyed Christ's statement, Follow me, on his death bed (in a prison cell) he could make the remarkable statement in 2 Timothy 4:7-8:

I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Henceforth there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will award to me on that Day, and not only to me but also to all who have loved his appearing. 

Listen to those powerful words, soak them up! They display a life lived without regrets; they display a man who answered the call of Christ and can now rest in peace because he knows his life was a success.

Not  a success as defined by society, for Paul had: next to no possessions...he gave up status and wealth as a Pharisee to become a follower of Christ; no real home...he travelled constantly sharing the Gospel; not even a healthy body...he had been tortured so many times it definitely left a mark (Galatians 6:17); but a success found only in obeying that simple phrase Jesus uttered, follow me.

Is it that simple? Is living a successful life or a life of regret wrapped up solely in whether or not we choose to listen to Christ when he says, "Follow me?" When I read the Bible, I am convinced that it is, but that is something we must each see for ourselves. I challenge you to open the pages of Scripture and see if you have answered Jesus' call, Follow me, with wholehearted obedience or not. Success or a life of regret hangs in the balance.