Day 6 (18 August): Alignment of the head

Subheader: Authority and Submission

Morning Meditation: Psalm 107

Passage: Luke 15

As a continuation from Day 5, we look at Luke 15 again to deal with the next season of aligning our head (being) in line with God’s.

This morning we focused on the whole area of authority and submission. In the Parable of the Lost Son, we read that the son chose to move away from the household (thus, away from the authority of the father) and how he suffered because of that.

Yet, when we come rightly under authority, we gain:

1) Liberty (freedom)

In the parable of the lost son, the youngest son rebelled against the father by demanding his share of inheritance and after taking it, he moved out and spent all he had. By moving out from the household, he is moving away from his father’s authority. He thought that he had freedom and liberty, but little did he knew that he was headed instead towards bondage and eventually destruction.

Similarly for us, as Christians, when we move away from God’s authority, we are not having freedom but rather enslavement. Jesus is our perfect example. He had the liberty to live for God fully as He was always doing things according to the will of Father God and submitted Himself wholly to His authority.

2) Security (spiritual covering)

When we submit towards authority, we come under the protection or rather spiritual covering of God and His appointed leaders. God’s command submit to godly authority is so that we enjoy the covering of the church. That is why when we send out missionaries, they are prayed for by the church as they come under our covering.

3) Prosperity (blessings and abundance)

God will bless us with His blessings and abundance when we submit and remain in His Presence. Similarly, the lost son. He came to his senses and realised that in the Father’s house, even the servants have more than enough and here he was in abject poverty and couldn’t even feed himself. Likewise, we need to ‘come to our senses’ and return fully to God to enjoy His promises of blessings and abundance in Christ.

What happens when we don’t submit to authority?

1) Anarchy – Lawlessness will be pattern in our lives.

2) Insecurity – We will always have the fear and dis-ease in living.

3) Poverty – We will never truly enjoy the true riches of living an obedient life.

Point of Reflection:

How is my posture towards authority? Am I in submission or rebelling against it? Is my posture towards authority a reflection of my rebellion towards God and the things of God?