[aron]

Obedience is hard. But it is not something you do. It is something you see Jesus doing. And it is indeed quite attractive. You are dead, but suddenly you see life! You hear the Father's voice! So you draw near, and listen, and follow. And at some point, like Peter and James and John who wandered up onto the mountain, you will indeed see glory. At some point, like John the Baptist who 'fulfilled all righteousness' and pushed Jesus down under water, you will look up and see the dove. At some point if you follow Jesus you'll see heaven open, and angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of Man.

But obedience is not something you do; it is something that you see Jesus doing, and you recognize the power of God, and you are drawn. And this drawing is nothing less than to be drawn back to the Father's throne, because that is the source of all. The angels ascend because they descend. Jesus went back to the Father because He came forth from the Father. Likewise the Spirit; it runs to and fro across the face of the earth but never leaves the Father. Its intention is pure.

We were the unwilling, the disobedient, the fallen, and the dead. We were given up. But the Spirit comes and breathes life into us, and we are raised to walk in newness of life. But this walk is entirely of the Spirit. It is not an easy walk. But it is the only walk. It is the only thing that is real.