Christ is our example of submission to the Father’s will--Matthew 26:39, 42 (NIV)
39 Going a little farther, he fell with his face to the ground and prayed, "My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will." 42 He went away a second time and prayed, "My Father, if it is not possible for this cup to be taken away unless I drink it, may your will be done."
Following Christ requires submission to him--Luke 14:27 (NIV) And anyone who does not carry his cross and follow me cannot be my disciple.
Submit to God-- James 4:7-10 (NIV) 7 Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. 8 Come near to God and he will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. 9 Grieve, mourn and wail. Change your laughter to mourning and your joy to gloom. 10 Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up.
Submit to each other--Ephesians 5:21 (NIV) Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ.
In submission we are free to value other people. Their dreams and plans become important to us. We have entered into a new, wonderful, glorious freedom, the freedom to give up our own rights for the good of others. For the first time we can love people unconditionally. We have given up the right for them to return our love. No longer do we feel that we have to be treated in a certain way. We can rejoice with their successes. We feel genuine sorrow at their failures. It is of little consequence that our plans are frustrated if their plans succeed. We discover that it is far better to serve our neighbor than to have our own way.
Richard J. Foster (1942- )
Holy Bible, New Living Translation, (Wheaton, IL: Tyndale House Publishers, 2004), WORDsearch CROSS e-book, Under: "SUBMISSION".
Edythe Draper, Draper's Book of Quotations for the Christian World, (Wheaton, IL: Tyndale House Publishers, 1992), WORDsearch CROSS e-book, 548-549.
