Submission

Early in my spiritual journey, I seemed to take exception to words like obedience and submission...I just didn’t understand. I wanted an easy faith; I wanted a friend in Jesus, a savior and not necessarily a Lord. I didn't want to give up my perception of freedom.  I struggled with this for a while and one day it just hit me that submission to one who was willing to forgive anything, to one who loved me steadfastly, to one who gave His life for me was the only thing that made sense.

Only with this submission am I truly free...free not to worry, free to love, free to care, free to worship, free to truly live. Only with this thing called submission can you truly understand relationships and grace and forgiveness and here it comes again freedom. 

I recently read a blog by the daughter of someone famous for apologetics where she has gone from growing up Christian to now claiming the title non­‐believer. It was heartbreaking and probably still is for her parents. In her blog she says that she didn’t regret growing up Christian because; “I wouldn’t understand what freedom truly is — freedom from a life centered around obedience and submission, freedom to think anything, freedom from guilt and shame, freedom from the perpetual heavy obligation to keep every thought pure. Nothing I’ve ever encountered in my life has been so breathtakingly beautiful. 

Freedom is my God now, and I love this one a thousand times more than I ever loved the last one.”

I guess I would just counter that her description of freedom means she is free to live a broken life centered on something of this world. Where I might say I am free to live a life centered on Christ and as such obedience and submission are a natural outcome because Christ first loved me, that I am free to live a life basking in grace free from guilt and shame due to the finished work of Christ on my behalf, free to turn back to the open arms of Christ whenever I mess up and that nothing in my life is so breathtakingly beautiful. 

I guess the thing that bothered me most about this blog was that she was certain she broke her mother’s heart and that she didn’t know the impact to her father as they haven’t spoken. Yet we all know there is hope and as the prodigal son returned to the open arms of the father I will pray for this family, I will pray for restoration and reconciliation and the hope of Christ for them all. 

It just seemed appropriate to end with Colossians 1: 9-­12;

For this reason, since the day we heard about you, we have not stopped praying for you. We continually ask God to fill you with the knowledge of his will through all the wisdom and understanding that the Spirit gives, so that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God, being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience, and giving joyful thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of his holy people in the kingdom of light. 

For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.  Amen.

Grace and Peace!