Thursday, May 10, 2012

Who's In Charge?

Who's your 'boss'?

Most of us work for someone else...who is it?

Do you know who your boss is?

It's possible that, if you work for a big company, your 'boss' also has a 'boss'. There are lines of authority.

Your boss can't go off and make stuff up on his own, and he or she does not have the right to change policy, just because they think it 'should be' a different way.

They are in charge of some people, but they are accountable to others.

Truth is, even those at the highest levels of the corporate ladder...and even the 'owners' are accountable to someone.

Maybe it's shareholders, maybe it's some government agency... Ultimately, of course, we are ALL accountable to God (even those who don't acknowledge Him).

Jesus knew 'authority' well.

Once, when He was in Capernaum, a Roman Centurion came to Him for help. A servant of his--one he loved like a son--was sick and near death. This Centurion was not the 'typical' Roman...he loved the Jewish people, and even helped build a synagogue! He came to Jesus to ask Him to heal his servant.

Jesus was going to go with him, but the Centurion turned to Jesus and said: “Lord, don’t trouble yourself by coming to my home, for I am not worthy of such an honor. I am not even worthy to come and meet you. Just say the word from where you are, and my servant will be healed. I know this because I am under the authority of my superior officers, and I have authority over my soldiers. I only need to say, ‘Go,’ and they go, or ‘Come,’ and they come. And if I say to my slaves, ‘Do this,’ they do it.” (Matthew 8:8-9)

This guy knew what real "authority" was! He understood what it was like to have such authority that he could say 'go', and his men would go!

As a result, he understood Jesus' authority--that all He would have to do was say the word, and his servant would be healed! He KNEW of Jesus' authority!

Jesus' response? "When Jesus heard this, he was amazed. Turning to those who were following him, he said, “I tell you the truth, I haven’t seen faith like this in all Israel!...Then Jesus said to the Roman officer, “Go back home. Because you believed, it has happened.” And the young servant was healed that same hour."(Matthew 8:10-13)

Jesus knew that this man understood that HE HAD AUTHORITY that NO ONE else did!

Jesus, after all, was the divine Son of God.
He was "the Word, made flesh" (John 1) He still is!

So, do we treat Him and His Word this way? ...or do we put ourselves in the seat of power? ...giving ourselves the 'right' to make decisions as we see fit--according to what we think is 'right'?

As a Christ follower, I am to follow Him in every area of my life--my morality, my beliefs, my behavior, my relationships.

I do not have the right to reject what His Word says, because I don't 'think it's fair'.

There are many in this world who forget that.

Christ followers who have forgotten their place.

We sit under HIS authority, submissive to His Word and His Example. We will never do it perfectly in this life, but we certainly can't use that fact as an excuse to abandon our rightful position--at His feet!

No matter who you are--Teacher, Boss, Parent, Pastor, President, or any other role of authority, we must remember:

We answer to Him.
We follow Him.
We submit to Him--in word and in deed.

No matter what others say.

Remember that today--no matter what goes on around us, we are His. He has authority.

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