authority.

a son without authority is a bastard. 

this morning after i had coffee with a good friend, i was thinking about sonship and about many of my friends. most of my friends and i have had a hard time with our father-son relationships due to wounds inflicted by us and them (and society). one of my buds was talking about the lack of a father figure in his life and this morning that thought came to mind. 

we who are believers have become sons of God (Rom. 8.14; Gal. 3.26). however, there are many sons, who have failed to come under authority. authority is a tough word for those with failed fathers. we have a hard time listening and obeying those who we see as flawed. however, this is a wrong attitude to have. now authority is not limited to parentage alone, it deals with a much deeper issue. 

authority is really about coming into submission. funny thing is that submission is really about love. when you subject yourself to others you have allowed for others to be in authority in your life. not to have domination over your life but actually to release one into freedom. it would be easy to say that we only need to come into the authority of the Spirit of God, however, as we are people and not understanding of the way God works, we need a means by which we are reminded of this authority. that is why God has provided his people as a means by which we can come to understand authority.

if you are unwilling to submit to another person, you first become unwilling to love them and in return you have become a rebel. you have become a rogue. you have become a prodigal. you have become a bastard. a fatherless child. an unauthorized son. only the son who submits has the ability to know the fullness of the Father's heart. only the son who comes into authority, understand how submission is equated to love. 

although you can be a son without having authority, you will be limited in your empowerment and your influence in the father's kingdom. Jesus became this perfect example to us. he submitted himself to his Father in heaven. And similarly to the world in which he lived. he humbled himself and came under the authority of humanity by clothing himself in it, never limiting his power, instead empowering himself to overcome all things. it was that authority to both things in which he was able to reveal both love and purpose of the Father to all others. he was empowered to do miracles, healings, forgiveness, etc. 

so the question is not how i can live for me, but how can i live (and love) for the authority that i am under, whether God or a father. 

- peaks out.

P.S. More to come.