EPHESIANS EXTRA #22

SUBMISSION AND FEAR

In today’s “me first” culture, we shy away from the idea of submitting to anyone, especially someone of equal or lesser status or education. Why should we submit to anyone? Aren’t we just as good as they are? In our sometimes fierce independence, we miss the point. God created us for community; and for a community to work, we must submit to each other. We submit to the authorities in our lives because we believe God places people in positions of leadership. We may subordinate our plans to the plans of friends for the sake of unity. Note that we are to submit to one another not due to the fear of the person to whom we are submitting, but because of the fear of the Lord.

What does it mean to fear God? We’ve had people tell us it is merely respect; but from the definitions above, we believe it is much more than that. The fear of God is something else we’ve watered down in modern society. We focus on the aspects of God that are most palatable such has his unconditional love, his mercy and grace, and his power to heal. We shy away from the idea of the awesome, all-powerful, supreme Lord who is in total control of the world. We conveniently forget the scenes in the Bible where people came face to face with the Lord and fell flat on their faces! When we truly fear God, it makes his love and sacrifice for us even more fantastic. If we had no fear of God, why would we need his forgiveness and why would we seek salvation? The all-mighty God of the universe, who could have squashed us like tiny bugs because of our sin, chose instead to inhabit earth in the person of his Son and die in our place. This is a God who will be obeyed. This is the God we fear and love at the same time.

Father, help us to understand what it is to fear you and to be confident in your everlasting love at the same time. Help us to submit to others for the unity of the body of Christ. Help us to always remember the greatness of your grace.