Submit! There, I said it. The most hated word in our post modern culture. Each day that passes seems to shun authority more. But don't be fooled by all the "liberated" men and women out there. We are all submitting to something in some way. Today the standard seems to be "parents, submit to your children. Give them everything they want and never correct them." "Kids, submit to NO ONE!" If your teacher does something you don't like your mommy or daddy will rush in and save you.Wives, submit to your lust for gossip, shopping control of the home. "God never really meant for us to respect our husbands right? If he did he would have made men better, more like us." And of course, men,submit to your fleshly desires. Look all you want, feel what you want. You don't need to submit to God. You are big and strong and you don't need some sissy faith that turns you into a woman.
People look at submission like a prison. "I am never going to give up my rights, my will." But the truth is submission is the most freeing place you can be.
Every so often as we age we might have a flashback of a tender childhood moment. Maybe a thunderstorm caused night unrest and you submitted yourself to the loving arms of a mom and felt safe and secure. Or when you were sick and you knew there was nothing you could do to make yourself feel better so you submit yourself to the care of a mother, trusting her completely, knowing she has your best interest at heart. I remember being a little girl of maybe 6 or 7 and just sitting on my daddy's lap with my ear to his chest. I would just listen to the deep, muffled rumble of his voice as he talked to my mom. I would feel so at rest that soon my eye lids would become heavy.
Maybe you never had a family life where you got to feel this. Maybe you came from a broken home where you could not trust the actions of a mother or father but you could see other kids hugged by their parents. Maybe you grew up longing to submit, to trust your life to someone that would love you but you never had that.Maybe you have lived most of your adult life chasing that base need only to feel empty.
Now is your chance. True peace. Real rest. To feel like a child, wrapped in a warm blanket and held in strong arms. God wants so badly to give you that. To fill that need but just as a child has to submit to a parent, we have to submit our will to him. We have all seen that toddler refuses to take his nap. he fights and cries and pushes his mom away and she desperately tries to subdue the child for his own good. She might have a fun day planned but she know that without his submission to a nap, without him giving up his will, he will never get the rest he needs so that he can enjoy the day ahead. We are the same as that child. We have free will. We fight submission to Christ when all he wants to do is give us rest, equip us, make our lives count and have meaning.
God gave us authority. Kings, presidents, parents, bosses, husbands, the list goes on. But we live in a culture that says "you can be a Christian and not listen to any authority. "I can do what I want as long as i say I know Jesus. He does not want me to be a door mat". Well, actually, he kind of does. Jesus himself tells us to submit ourselves to the laws that we may live in peace and be an example to the lost. (1 Peter 2:13, Heb. 13:17,Rom.13:1 just to name a few)
Submission is not just for first time believers It is for all of us that take on the name of Christ. Submission is unnatural. At the core, man wants his way. We are selfish and sin and temptation pull at us and tell us to "fight for your rights!!" But Jesus wants us to fight for the rights of others. To lay down our lives, to pick up our cross that we might win some. I know I cannot do any of that on my own but when I submit my will to Christ and ask him to give me the power look out! Cool things happen and best of all I get to feel the truest freedom this world will ever know.
I was reminded this week of one of my favorite quotes. "You can't stress over what you don't own." That is what submission does.It takes all our stress and worry because we no longer "own" our lives, we submit them to Christ and ask him to work out all things for our good and to his glory.
It is ok to lose a fight with your spouse. It is ok to go the extra mile for that evil co worker or boss. It is more than ok to teach our kids submission to authority. It is better than ok, it is our call. Wives, we don't lose out if we give our husbands authority in the home. We win because when they feel respected they want to love us which is what we are really seeking anyway. Above all when we submit ourselves to Christ we lose our strife and we gain his peace and joy! I call that a win.
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