Learning Through Obedience

The Letter to the Hebrews underlines the connection between obedience and suffering:  "he [Jesus] learned obedience from what he suffered, and when he was made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him." (Heb 1:10). There's no getting around it:  there is pain in this life, there is opposition, there is controversy, but there is also obedience:  obedience to a higher call, a "higher power", a dream.  All of this comes to a head in Jesus, but it was also exemplified in the life and crusade of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., who is honored by a national holiday in the United States today.  In trying to focus on respect and equality of all peoples, he suffered threats, verbal and physical attacks and eventually, death.  He followed the path walked by Jesus and only after his death was his message implemented, at least to a degree, with many more dreams and miles to go.
Our own footsteps along this path similarly require more pain, more learning, more obedience.  Jesus reached the high bar and assures us that the path of suffering and obedience is the path to redemption, our own, and that of our society. May we not give up, but grow stronger in our faith and conviction with each day, with each step of the way.
Bro. Rene