As Jesus was saying these things, a woman in the crowd called out, “Blessed is the mother who gave you birth and nursed you.” He replied, “Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and obey it.”

–Luke 11:27-28 (TNIV)

When I was a young man, I remember reading this passage and thinking that being blessed meant that I would have lots of girlfriends, money, fame, and fortune.

Oops.

No, to obey the word of God means to deny ourselves, to take up our cross every day, and follow Jesus. It means being persecuted for your faith and obedience because the world has no interest in having us follow Jesus. In our culture today it means to face ridicule and scorn, to be labeled a bigot, a fundamentalist, ignorant, and intolerant (all in the name of tolerance). Don’t believe me? Check out any of Bill Maher’s stuff. Or stand up for traditional Christian values in certain quarters and see what that gets you.

So what is so “blessed” about all this Christian obedience? Just this. When we listen and obey God’s word–Jesus, the Word made flesh–we acknowledge that we do not have life in us or have what it takes to live happy, meaningful lives. Obeying God’s word means that we acknowledge God is God and we are not. It means being humble enough to admit we don’t have all of the answers (or even most of them) to life’s most perplexing problems but that God does. It means we understand life as having a relationship with the Source and Author of all life, and not mere physical existence.

Do you want to live life with meaning and purpose? Do you want to have a real hope to sustain you during the darkest hours of your life? Listen to and obey the Word of God–Jesus. On the cross, he has overcome the world (John 16:33) and invites you to help him in his creative and redemptive work in restoring his broken and fallen creation. If you will acknowledge that you are the creature and God is the Creator you will find a joy and purpose that nothing in this world will ever be able to defeat.