Submission has become another one of those loaded words and has been tied to marriage. Is submission a part of all relationships? Yes, of course. So, of course marriage is involved.
But it also involves every other relationship.
When I have the most trouble submitting it is usually related to one of two things. Either I want to be the one with the power or there is some element of superiority involved.
I do not think in Eden we will walk about like a bunch of bland pieces of milk toast never having meaningful interactions. Can’t you just picture Adam and Eve after a long day of work, gathering and preparing food and talking about their day? Eve tossing a small rock at Adam when he’s not looking and then feigning ignorance when he turned towards her. Submission and power ebbing and flowing between them.
In Eden we will have power and authority, but we will use it without superiority. And we will submit without it turning into oppression.
Submission and Power without Oppression or Superiority. That was the plan plain and simple. And remember, even as you are, at different times, both the abuser of power and the abused, the balance between these two awaits us.
As hard as it is to imagine now, submission and power will be our friends in all circumstances.
All the posts in the series will be added to this page each day of October. If you would like to receive these reminders in your email inbox, subscribe now. I am enjoying the journey together. Amy
Reminders: Love, satisfaction, extravagance, freedom, belonging, recreation, truth, trust, purity, submission and power
When I have been in positions of power Amy and I hope I have done this well I choose to try to use the position to serve. As a boss I try to do that which will make work worthwhile and make us all better employees. I try to look after those that work for me and care for them as people. As a father and husband I continually look for ways to serve my children and wive. It is had to admit but sometimes I feel like it makes me look weak and sometimes it feels like I am taken for granted but I believe it is the way I should live. I don’t want to be powerful or thought of as such but I want what I do to be so.
We are made in the image of God. And there is submission and humility and power and obedience and giving way in the Trinity. By ‘practising’ submission, we are reflecting God’s image. IOW it’s a privilege, not something we have to do (though in my fallenness, it feels a lot more like the latter than the former!).
Amy – brilliantly succinct, but so hopeful outlook on the balance and tug of war between these two. I love ‘Eve tossing a small rock at Adam’ when he isn’t looking. :) Thank you for a thought-provoking link-up. I’m sure I’ll be mulling this for awhile.