Submission
Open Your Bible
Luke 22:39-42, 2 Corinthians 10:1-6, Ephesians 5:15-33, Ephesians 6:1-9, Philippians 2:3-10, Hebrews 13:17 NIV
BY Guest Writer
It should come as no surprise that the concept of submission is unpopular. For many of us, submission is synonymous with defeat. It conjures up images of the strong-minded trampling the weak-willed. Today’s culture asks, Why would anyone willingly give away their power to someone else? However, this perception of submission is antithetical to the biblical witness. The Scriptures are clear: submission is at the very center of the character of the triune God, where Father, Son, and Spirit all mutually honor and defer to one another in love.
When Jesus submitted to the Father’s will on the night before His death, praying those unforgettable words, “Not my will, but yours, be done” (Luke 22:42), it was not due to any weakness on Christ’s part. No, as the Son had done from before the foundations of the world, He glorified the Father by pursuing the Father’s interests above His own. This is how Father, Son, and Spirit relate to one another—in love, mutually submitting to one another’s desires and seeking the other’s good. When Scripture calls for believers to submit to one another (Ephesians 5:21), we’re being invited into relationships that reflect the life and love of the Trinity!
It is only with this understanding of submission that we can wrap our minds around Paul’s radical challenge in his letter to the Philippians. He instructs Christians to look to their neighbor’s interests before their own, going so far as to urge them to humility, to “consider others as more important than [themselves]” (Philippians 2:3). This was the attitude of Christ, which means this is the attitude of God Himself. If submission is at the center of God’s existence, it makes perfect sense that He’d desire it to be at the center of ours as well.
One of the ways I’ve tried to cultivate a life of submission is by placing myself under the tutelage of mentors. Throughout my life, I’ve sought out godly men with admirable faith to speak into my life, hold me accountable, and encourage and instruct me in the faith. It’s rarely easy to give someone this level of authority over your life’s direction, but relationships like these help remind me that following Jesus means surrendering my will to God’s kingdom agenda. I give these men authority to guide me in the ways of Christ, and they have been some of the most meaningful relationships I’ve ever had.
But the practice of submission can enter our lives in a myriad of ways, as we seek to put the interests of others ahead of our own. Rather than squeezing in time to help those in need whenever it’s most convenient for us, let’s put acts of service on the calendar first, before filling our days with our own activities. Same goes for giving: set aside money to give away first, before budgeting out the rest. These are small ways we can build the principal of submission into our lives as we follow Christ’s example.
Written by Collin Ross
99 thoughts on "Submission"
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It’s always interesting to me how a single devotional can speak to each of us in a different way. My key takeaway was this:
“Let’s put acts of service on our calendar first, before filling our days with our own activities. Same does for giving: set aside money to give away first, before budgeting out the rest.”
I have been struggling to seek out new ways to serve others, in this pandemic, as a hard of hearing gal who has trouble reading lips behind the masks that we all wear (and should!!) Just this morning, an opportunity came my way to bless teachers in our community by baking cookies, fir the rest of the school year! I signed up and put some dates on my calendar, BEFORE I read the reading and devotional, in which I am actually a few days behind. God’s timing, of course, is *perfect* in every way!! -
Thank you for this! ❤️
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❤️
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Submission is a hard word for me to hear as well especially as a woman in a leadership role over girls who want to encourage them daily to be their best selves for the Lord and not for men. But submission IS mutual and based and built on respect ❤️ God bless you Tina! Praying for your healing process and thankful to YOU for the affirmation your words gave me (haven’t scrolled down to ChurchMouse)
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Be submissive to god!
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10so that at the name of Jesus
every knee will bow —
in heaven and on earth
and under the earth —
9For this reason God highly exalted him
and gave him the name
that is above every name, -
I have never liked the word submission!
It holds too many bad and not very nice memories for me. My first marriage was abusive. I was hospitalised twice with serious injuries..I do not like the word submission! Full stop!
As I was reading the devotion I realised it was not written by a woman, this went down like a led balloon.. I stopped reading.., I am not anti men, but it was a man who broke my ribs, broke my arm, gave me two black eyes and put me in hospital, a man who said in our marriage i had to be submissive.. so if a man is talking about submission.. I am going to claim up!
But God..
I read all your comments, I cringed I remembered, I agreed, I questioned..
This comment by Churchmouse..Submission is some things but it is not other things. SUBMISSION IS NOT SUBSERVIENT. It is willfully choosing to serve. SUBMISSION IS NOT THE DOMAIN OF ONE GENDER OVER ANOTHER. It is to be mutual. Each one is to care for the other. SUBMISSION IS BORN OUT OF COMPASSION AND COMMUNICATION. It is not dominance nor dictatorship. It is not a power struggle. It is MUTUAL RESPECT.
Love one another. Submit to one another. NOT OVER ONE ANOTHER. But together. A beautiful act of communion.’ Gave me hope. Turned my thinking.
Thank You CHURCHMOUSE.
Thank you God for using my friend to open my eyes to something different to the way I have seen this word for so long..
Thank you Father, and yes, please, help me to be submissive to your calling.. your will.Amen.
Blessings, always wrapped in love..❤
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Great thought
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