Faithfulness and Obedience
I was reading Romans 13-14 this morning and I was seeing that paying taxes, obeying authority, and being free from debt are very practical ways that the Lord wants us to submit to him and therefore to those who are in authority over us.
It's not a popular message, but really practical - if you want to have true freedom in your life, submit to those in authority over you.
Seriously. It sounds so bland and mundane, but the way of the kingdom of God is in the small things. Those who are faithful in the little things - taking care of our belonging, being faithful to our family and friends, pursuing excellence in our work and school - they are the ones who the Lord will entrust with greater and greater responsibility. There are no shortcuts around faithfulness in the little things. If we want to grow in Christ, we must be radically committed to honoring our parents, obeying the legal rules over us, honoring our church leaders, and being faithful with our money (ouch...).
We are not of the kingdoms of this world - we are no longer citizens of such and such a country, but one main way we grow in the kingdom of heaven is by living well as citizens in this world. When we submit to the leaders over us, even those we disagree with (especially them), the Lord sees it as trust and faith in his provision and protection over us.
When a wife submits to her husband and follows him in a direction she does not necessarily agree with, she is actually throwing herself into the arms of Jesus. But obeying their parents, even when they don't agree with them, children are telling Jesus that they honor him and that they know he will take care of them.
There is so, so, so much blessing to be found is submitting ourselves to the authority figures in our lives. When we do this, we are living in blessing. When we refuse and rebel, we are taking ourselves out from under that blessing and going out on our own.
I think my generation (20 somethings) needs to understand this more than ever. We think we know so much better than our parents about life and how to live it. And maybe we do (probably not...). But whether or not we actually do "know better" is not the issue. The issue is whether or not we want to live under the blessing of God.
Just a little example from my own life is the fact that I have sought to honor my father in my decisions. This was like scraping my nails against chalkboard the first time I started trying to listen to his advice and invite him into my decisions (because I thought I knew sooooo much better, and unfortunately I still do think that sometimes...). I wanted to drop out of school and hightail it to the end of the earth to start mission work right away. I wasn't willing to listen to the wisdom of my parents when they were telling me that I needed to take the time to prepare and get a degree and all that... I wanted to leave NOW!
But the Lord somehow got through my thick scull and showed me just how important it is to him that I honor my parents and submit to them (yes, even as a 21 year old. This looks a little different now that I'm older, but I still seek my parent's advice on most things and always try to live at peace even though I'm pretty terrible at it still...).
So anyways, instead of jumping ship and heading off into the horizon to save the world, I submitted to my parents and am now working on my International Studies degree. I'll be finished this summer. And since I've submitted to my parents and put myself back under their protection and blessing by obeying such a small thing as finishing my degree, I have walked in so much peace and blessing and security. What looked like such an unnecessary burden (like finishing a degree) has turned into my greatest joy as I am learning faithfulness in the little things, time management, money managements (still workin on that one...), good stewardship with my resources, and wisdom. I have been grown in ways that I know will help me to actually be a blessing to the people around me instead of a burden and I have a deep sense of peace and joy that I am living in the will of God by submitting to my parents.
God is so serious about this that I wish more people my age understood how important it is that we honor those who are over us and maybe do some things that we think are "outdated" or just not necessary in order to live under their protection and blessing.
The part of all this that is getting personal is the "pay taxes" part. I work as a nanny and therefore don't "necessarily" have to pay taxes. No one really does with this kind of a job. But because I know that I actually am supposed to pay taxes, I am going to do it because I want to tell the Lord that I trust him and that I want to live in an honorable way - as one who is worthy to be a citizen of his kingdom - in every way I can.
There is a great reward coming for those who are willing to be faithful and obedient in the small things. Our destinies in the coming kingdom of Jesus to the earth hinges on this. It is serious business to live in obedience and honor to those over us.
Love you guys. The Lord is faithful and he will teach us to obey and honor our leaders, parents, and pastors. We really need the help and leadership of those who are older and wiser than us, no matter how much we think we don't. There is so much blessing and reward for us if we will put down our pride and join hands with those who are ahead of us on this journey.
It's not a popular message, but really practical - if you want to have true freedom in your life, submit to those in authority over you.
Seriously. It sounds so bland and mundane, but the way of the kingdom of God is in the small things. Those who are faithful in the little things - taking care of our belonging, being faithful to our family and friends, pursuing excellence in our work and school - they are the ones who the Lord will entrust with greater and greater responsibility. There are no shortcuts around faithfulness in the little things. If we want to grow in Christ, we must be radically committed to honoring our parents, obeying the legal rules over us, honoring our church leaders, and being faithful with our money (ouch...).
We are not of the kingdoms of this world - we are no longer citizens of such and such a country, but one main way we grow in the kingdom of heaven is by living well as citizens in this world. When we submit to the leaders over us, even those we disagree with (especially them), the Lord sees it as trust and faith in his provision and protection over us.
When a wife submits to her husband and follows him in a direction she does not necessarily agree with, she is actually throwing herself into the arms of Jesus. But obeying their parents, even when they don't agree with them, children are telling Jesus that they honor him and that they know he will take care of them.
There is so, so, so much blessing to be found is submitting ourselves to the authority figures in our lives. When we do this, we are living in blessing. When we refuse and rebel, we are taking ourselves out from under that blessing and going out on our own.
I think my generation (20 somethings) needs to understand this more than ever. We think we know so much better than our parents about life and how to live it. And maybe we do (probably not...). But whether or not we actually do "know better" is not the issue. The issue is whether or not we want to live under the blessing of God.
Just a little example from my own life is the fact that I have sought to honor my father in my decisions. This was like scraping my nails against chalkboard the first time I started trying to listen to his advice and invite him into my decisions (because I thought I knew sooooo much better, and unfortunately I still do think that sometimes...). I wanted to drop out of school and hightail it to the end of the earth to start mission work right away. I wasn't willing to listen to the wisdom of my parents when they were telling me that I needed to take the time to prepare and get a degree and all that... I wanted to leave NOW!
But the Lord somehow got through my thick scull and showed me just how important it is to him that I honor my parents and submit to them (yes, even as a 21 year old. This looks a little different now that I'm older, but I still seek my parent's advice on most things and always try to live at peace even though I'm pretty terrible at it still...).
So anyways, instead of jumping ship and heading off into the horizon to save the world, I submitted to my parents and am now working on my International Studies degree. I'll be finished this summer. And since I've submitted to my parents and put myself back under their protection and blessing by obeying such a small thing as finishing my degree, I have walked in so much peace and blessing and security. What looked like such an unnecessary burden (like finishing a degree) has turned into my greatest joy as I am learning faithfulness in the little things, time management, money managements (still workin on that one...), good stewardship with my resources, and wisdom. I have been grown in ways that I know will help me to actually be a blessing to the people around me instead of a burden and I have a deep sense of peace and joy that I am living in the will of God by submitting to my parents.
God is so serious about this that I wish more people my age understood how important it is that we honor those who are over us and maybe do some things that we think are "outdated" or just not necessary in order to live under their protection and blessing.
The part of all this that is getting personal is the "pay taxes" part. I work as a nanny and therefore don't "necessarily" have to pay taxes. No one really does with this kind of a job. But because I know that I actually am supposed to pay taxes, I am going to do it because I want to tell the Lord that I trust him and that I want to live in an honorable way - as one who is worthy to be a citizen of his kingdom - in every way I can.
There is a great reward coming for those who are willing to be faithful and obedient in the small things. Our destinies in the coming kingdom of Jesus to the earth hinges on this. It is serious business to live in obedience and honor to those over us.
Love you guys. The Lord is faithful and he will teach us to obey and honor our leaders, parents, and pastors. We really need the help and leadership of those who are older and wiser than us, no matter how much we think we don't. There is so much blessing and reward for us if we will put down our pride and join hands with those who are ahead of us on this journey.
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