“Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. ‘Honor your father and mother… that it may go well with you…’ Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord.
“Obey your earthly masters with fear and trembling, with a sincere heart, as you would Christ, not by the way of eye-service, as people-pleasers, but as bondservants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart, rendering service with a good will as to the Lord and not to man.” Ephesians 6:1-7
“You are serving the Lord Christ.” Colossians 3:24
“I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people, for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way. This is good, and it is pleasing in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus.” 1 Timothy 2:1-5
“No soldier gets entangled in civilian pursuits, since his aim is to please the one who enlisted him.” 2 Timothy 2:4
The Lord has established a regimen of priority for His people to flourish. The goal of His placement is to train His people to put Him first in every allegiance, and so enjoy the blessings of an ordered, peaceful life. Paul addresses several earthly leaders God has instituted who are to be respected and obeyed. As he pokes at conscience and self-will, he also presents what pleases the Lord. (1 Corinthians 14:33)
Every submission to one God has placed over us is an opportunity to say no to self and yes to Him. We may not like nor find it easy to follow familial, employment, or governing authorities, but God’s command reaches past our preferences. He intends us, in putting Him first, to see with fresh eyes and address our will. A commitment to, and practice of, obedience forms in us more malleable willingness to be changed, and greater expectation of God’s higher purposes. Life isn’t just about me, but about glorifying the Lord in all circumstances and attitudes. Where are we leading ahead of God?
In our various venues of life, who are our leaders, and what is our innate response to them? What authority over us deserves greater respect as God’s assigned leader? How might the Lord realign our impulses and thinking, and adjust our want-to, if we determine to pray regularly and submit willingly out of reverence for Him? Accepting that the Lord is the true Leader whom we aim to please sets our allegiances aright in all situations.
“Living for Jesus a life that is true,
striving to please Him in all that I do,
yielding allegiance, glad-hearted and free,
this is the pathway of blessing for me.
O Jesus, Lord and Savior,
I give myself to Thee;
for Thou, in Thine attonement,
didst give Thyself for me.
I own no other master;
my heart shall be Thy throne.
My life I give, henceforth to live,
O Christ, for Thee alone.” ~Thomas Chisolm (1917)
Lord, help me, moment by moment, to follow You with all my being, to Your glory and ends.
