Love to hear from and know who is listening
When I was raising my children they often told me that I was a slave driver and that all I ever did was make up crazy rules and work them to death. They didn't understand that the rules and tasks I was giving them were meant to build their character or to teach them a lesson. I must admit once in a while I would get tired of explaining myself to them and I would tell them, “Some day you will have children of your own and you do you can have you own slaves. Until then you are my slaves and you will do as I say!” I hate to admit it but when I was a child I also thought that my parents rules were only meant to limit my ability to enjoy life to the fullest. To enjoy all the world had to offer. I even thought many of the worlds rules were designed only to limit my ability to enjoy life in the fast lane. For example speed limits on the highway were only there to stop me from experiences the joy of driving at 100 plus miles per hour. Speed limits had nothing to do with my safety or the safety of others they were just there to force me to submit and rob me of the freedom to do as I pleased!
Little did I know when I was a rebellious teen that rules were meant for my good and that if I submitted to those rules I would be better off! Here is a story that will help me illustrate my point. There once was a locomotive, let's call him Thomas the train. Thomas drove up and down the tracks daily from the city of Gotham to Metropolis. Every day as he would make his journey he would check out the country side and wonder to himself what was out there beyond the rail road tracks. Thomas began to feel that the tracks were doing nothing but limiting his ability to see what more the world had to offer. Matter of fact he even felt imprisoned by the tracks. So one day he decided he was going to jump off the tracks and see all the wonders the world had to offer. Poor ole Thomas didn't get far however. As soon as he jumped off the tracks he found himself stuck in the grass of the field. He only got a very short distance before he realized the tracks were not a prison at all they were actually lifting him up, supporting him and giving him the freedom to travel and experience the world. In Thomas the trains case, submission to the rules actually gave him freedom. Submission to authority can be liberating. Following the rules or in this case, the train tracks, can even provide you freedom.
Hebrews 13:17 NIV Have confidence in your leaders and submit to their authority, because they keep watch over you as those who must give an account. Do this so that their work will be a joy, not a burden, for that would be of no benefit to you.
We all have a lot we can learn about submission. Submission can be a very hard thing. When Jesus prayed for an alternative to the cross, he wanted another way so badly that he actually sweat blood. But, He chose to follow the Father’s plan even when it was hard! All of us should be incredibly grateful that He did! While submission can be hard, the plans of our heavenly Father always have our best interest in mind and they result in immense blessings. Many of us have freedom and safety on a level that first century Christians could barely dream of. And yet, if someone gets elected that we disagree with we, many of us treat them with massive disrespect. During election season, one very effective way to win is for the candidates to slander each other, to exaggerate the others flaws, and even to tell bold-faced lies. We ought to pray more for our political leaders, and complain about them far less. Our elected officials may not realize it but their authority is not of their own, it is granted to them by God!
Romans 13:1 NIV Let everyone be subject to the govern
