Daily Digest #323

Be renewed in the spirit of your mind. —Ephesians 4:23

I just read a very timely reading last night from My Utmost for His Highest. Allow me to share it with you:

The Submission of the Believer
You call Me Teacher and Lord, and you say well, for so I am —John 13:13

Our Lord never insists on having authority over us. He never says, "You will submit to me." No, He leaves us perfectly free to choose— so free, in fact, that we can spit in His face or we can put Him to death, as others have done; and yet He will never say a word. But once His life has been created in me through His redemption, I instantly recognize His right to absolute authority over me. It is a complete and effective domination, in which I acknowledge that "You areworthy, O Lord . . ." ( Revelation 4:11 ). It is simply the unworthiness within me that refuses to bow down or to submit to one who is worthy. When I meet someone who is more holy than myself, and I don’t recognize his worthiness, nor obey his instructions for me, it is a sign of my own unworthiness being revealed. God teaches us by using these people who are a little better than we are; not better intellectually, but more holy. And He continues to do so until we willingly submit. Then the whole attitude of our life is one of obedience to Him.

If our Lord insisted on our obedience, He would simply become a taskmaster and cease to have any real authority. He never insists on obedience, but when we truly see Him we will instantly obey Him. Then He is easily Lord of our life, and we live in adoration of Him from morning till night. The level of my growth in grace is revealed by the way I look at obedience. We should have a much higher view of the word obedience, rescuing it from the mire of the world. Obedience is only possible between people who are equals in their relationship to each other; like the relationship between father and son, not that between master and servant. Jesus showed this relationship by saying, "I and My Father are one" ( John 10:30 ). ". . . though He was a Son, yet He learned obedience by the things which He suffered" ( Hebrews 5:8 ). The Son was obedient as our Redeemer, because He was the Son, not in order to become God’s Son.

For this, let us pray. Heavenly Father, thank You for the love You gave us through Your Son, Jesus Christ. Thank You for Your Word, for teaching us how to lead our lives with passion and gratefulness. Thank You for making us Your children, and for providing us all our needs. Lord, we know each of us is a work in progress. May we grow a patient and faithful heart. We ask for guidance in everything that we think, say and do. Lord, we pray for the wounded, the helpless, and the blind among us. May you bless, comfort and enlighten us. Please teach us to forgive just as You have forgiven. May our scars give glory to Your name. And may we continue to build a stronger relationship with You. Amen.