Submission isn't subservience. It's a denial of self.
This is Felicia Ferguson with Christian Mix 106, helping you build faith for the journey.
Submission, ah such an ugly word in some Christian circles. This spiritual discipline has been misused and outright abused, putting people in bondage when its real intention is freedom. True and healthy submission allows us to release our burdens of always needing to get our own ways. Submission can help us distinguish between actual differences of opinion and our stubborn self-will’s need to be right. It is the ability to release and listen rather than hold tight and overrun.
And it is something sorely lacking in modern society. As we get more polarized politically, we lose more and more the ability to submit to one another, to agree to disagree, and friendships and families have paid a costly price. When we practice the spiritual discipline of submission, we come to value others and their dreams. We see them as human beings like ourselves, flawed, yearning, and in general wanting a better life. We can love them unconditionally with no need for that love to be returned.
Jesus would call this submission self-denial. “If any man come after me, let him deny himself, take up his cross and follow me.” In our self-denial, we are submitting to his lordship over our lives. Foster says there are seven different types of submission. The first is to God. We yield our bodies, our minds, and our spirits to his will and plan for our lives. The second is to Scripture, yielding ourselves to hear, receive, and obey the Word. The third act of submission is to our families. We are to be available to them, listening and sharing our thoughts and concerns. The fourth act is to our neighbors and those we meet every day. We are to show them kindness and helping them with their needs as we are able. The fifth act of submission is to the body of Christ, performing acts of service as we are able. We can’t do everything, but we can do some things. The sixth act is to the broken and despised. As we encounter them, give them care and honor even by simply acknowledging they are present. They have been dismissed and overlooked by society. They shouldn’t be by a Jesus follower. The final act of submission is to the world. We are to live responsibly in an increasingly irresponsible world.
So, I challenge you to take the first step in the submission. Completely submit to God and his will for your life, surrender your plans and dreams to his plans and dreams for you. It’s the hardest thing you may ever do in your life, but God promises it will be worth it.
This is Felicia Ferguson. Thanks for listening to Christian Mix 106.
