Not a Question....Just a Thought

Even in solitude and silence, my heart finds it hard to be still. There’s a vague restlessness that comes from relying only, always, on myself. It’s amazing, isn’t it, that the same voices that taunt me with condemnation and insults about my inadequacy are also the sirens convincing me that I am capable of being in control, that if I just try a little harder….

I was looking at the balance of power between God the Father and Jesus. Of Himself, Jesus said both that He does nothing without the consent of His Father and that all authority in heaven and on earth had been granted to Him.

In John 5, Jesus explains that it is the Father who is the source of all authority and who willingly has granted that authority to His Son, giving Jesus the power to give life and to judge. Jesus then gives that authority back to the Father by committing to doing nothing of His own accord and by sharing the authority to His followers.

So my desire for control of my life is a distortion… a reaching out for what God freely offers but bypassing the Giver.

Authority granted in the context of worship and service?

The Father gives the Son power, glory, and authority and in the giving He is Himself glorified. Jesus takes the glory and shares it: “I have given them the glory that you gave me that they might be one” (John 17:22). And in the giving, “…glory has come to me through them.” (John 17:10).

The glory flows downward, then. Not glory or authority that I give up….but glory and authority that I receive.

Hmmm….