Submit

The most vilified word in the Bible for 21st century Americans? Here it is... black and white, plain english, Ephesians 5:21 (ESV) submitting to one another out of reverence for Christ.

Oh how we hate to submit to anybody. Hey, our country was founded on sticking it to the authorities and tossing our tea into the sea. No one's going to tell us what to do.

But herein lies the American Church's greatest opportunity to shine bright. Actually submitting to one another would do two things: 1. It would be obedience to God. 2. It would stick out like a sore thumb in a culture fixated on self-actualization, not self-humiliation.

Funny thing is, Paul doesn't just say "Submit to one another." No! He adds, "out of reverence for Christ." he knows first hand that harm done to a Christian is harm done to Christ. What did Jesus ask him on the road to Damascus where he was going to persecute believers? "Saul, Saul, why do you persecute ME?" Jesus queried. It wasn't just some strange sect, it was the body of Christ and we need to see it that way or we miss an opportunity to shine.

Submission is such a negative term. but it plays such a vital role in relationships that work. The Greek root for the word submit is the Greek word for "order". Submission is about coming into the ORDER God designed. God is a God of order. He created order from day one and made the universe to function a certain way.

Without order there is chaos. Every successful team, business or operation that involves more than one person needs an established order. To step out of that order hurts you and everyone else. in the church, it hurts the body of Christ we are supposed to represent to the world.  People should look at our care and concern for one another and see something different, something honorable, something Christ-like!

Part of our problem with submission is that we think of it as subjection. And yes, the church has abused people in the name of "submission." But why must we go from one extreme to the other? Avoiding such abuses has pushed us further and further to a self-deteriorating society in which fathers and mothers are no longer honored or respected, men are made a mockery of on TV, and the human family is in disarray.

When you look at Christ you have the prime example of a submissive Savior who served and helped and worked hard even as a carpenter. He is our model. He was empowered and honored and adored YET was willing to do whatever it took to help and serve those in need. And His movement is still going strong world-wide.

Perhaps we need to take the "Americanism" out of our Bible and get back in touch with the Jesus on the pages of scripture.

PRAYER:
Father, help me to honor and serve others out of reverence for Jesus. I want to be an example to those who are closest to me that they matter to You and are worthy of respect and service as members of the body of Christ. Equip me with a serving heart just like Jesus.