Think about it: He had all the power in the entire universe. He was literally God in the flesh. Our imaginations cannot touch the reality of his power and majesty. We will not until heaven be able to comprehend the enormity and magnitude of His glory. He was, is, and will be all powerful. Just take a moment to contemplate the idea of being “all powerful”…
And then remember that He chose to be born unto a dubious virgin teen from a tiny town. He chose to have His step father be a lowly carpenter. He chose to be born in a slobbery feeding trough. It was His choice that the inn would have no place for Him, and He foreknew the world would act similarly. In all his divine power and knowledge, He decided to be a homeless, poor, migrant friend of outcast, unclean, impure, sinful bunches of people. With all of his power–all of the power there is–He hung from the cross, bearing immense pain and incalculable wrath for the sins of others–not of Himself. The cross was a labor of love if there ever were one, because He painstakingly stayed subjected to a sinners death so someone he loved could go free. It is a merciful injustice the likes of which were not yet seen and have not been witnessed sense. All this for you.
Consider that the all powerful sat in the garden, knowing what was to come, and submitted to a will greater than His own all for your freedom. He was submissive so you might have the freedom not to be.
Wow.
When I genuinely contemplate this gargantuan concept, I always end up relegated to a sense of dumbfound awe; to realize that the most powerful submitted for my weakness and sin so that I may continue to be weak and continue to sin is a humbling and freeing experience.
However, neither the freedom nor the humility are the key concepts with which I leave this lesson. Rather, the conclusion to which I always seem drawn is this: If The Lord would submit to a greater more pressing will in an effort to gain me the freedom to either submit or persevere as a headstrong example of premier arrogance, then what response would be more fitting as a “thank you” than that of following in the example of submission to the greater will.
It is for this reason (submission to a greater will) that I pursue God’s plan for my life through the World Race. It is not, nor was it ever, my choicest destination upon my college graduation. I would love to be attending some snazzy graduate school, further proving to the world, although mostly myself, that I am as smart as I think I am. I would like to be assuming a leadership position in ministry somewhere, and actually receiving a paycheck from it for once. I would love to be getting a job, an apartment or house, a dog, a jeep, a motorcycle, a sailboat, and maybe even some new friends. To establish myself as a self-sufficient adult is not far from the top of my “to do” list as a soon-to-be college graduate. But I have seen the light of truth, from which there is no return and to which there can be no denial. When we as Christians–as humans–understand that our place is to follow His example in the ultimate submission of death to self and selfish desires, we necessarily end up on a journey that just might blow our minds.
So far, following the leading of God’s spirit has not been easy. It has not always been fun. It has not been financially nor materially lucrative. It has not made me the most friends. It has not allowed me to prove to the world (mostly just myself) all that I feel I need to prove. It has not been a path on which to excel to the top of any social, economic, or otherwise worldly ladder. In fact, it has been gruelingly difficult. It has broken me time and time again. I have wanted to give up more frequently than I have genuinely wanted to persevere, and I have felt defeated and fallen more frequently than I have felt victorious. But I know the truth, and the truth says that The All-Powerful Lord died in omnipotent submission so that I may live in weak, pigheaded sinfulness. The only natural response for me is to give it all–every last breath–to make sure I follow His example.
Our false humility is not in the example of Jesus. Nor is pride. Submission, however, is the prelude to the beautiful music of graceful salvation on the cross. Let us stop our false humility and our insulting excuse for submission. May we all learn what I continue to learn bit by bit–to follow Christ’s example, both in genuine humility and submission to the Father’s will. I promise that whenever we begin this journey to humble submission to The One True King, we will simultaneously begin a life-changing journey of beauty. Our stories will become the kind we want to tell, and they will be but side stories in His epic.
Thanks for indulging me, readers. You’re pretty spectacular and don’t let me or the enemy or anyone else tell you differently.
