Supreme Submitter

"Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ. Wives, submit yourselves to your own husbands as you do to the Lord.”
Ephesians 5:21-22 (NIV)

There's a word in Ephesians 5 that makes blood pressures rise before anyone finishes reading the sentence. The word is "submit."

Before you tune out, submission isn't some strange Christian invention. Privates submit to generals, employees submit to bosses… You submit to the speed limit (I hope!) without even thinking about it. Society can't function without it. Submission has gotten a bad rap not because it's wrong, but because it's been misunderstood.

As the Apostle Paul addresses wives, notice that he ties the word "submit" to Jesus both times he uses it. "Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ." "Wives, submit yourselves as you do to the Lord." Submission in marriage was never meant to stand on its own. It stands on Someone first.

God also is not asking you to do something He hasn’t already modeled. The road to a relationship with God is paved with the submission of God the Son to God the Father. Jesus surrendered to the Father's will all the way to a cross. At the cross, the Supreme Master became the supreme submitter. It wasn't a dirty word to Jesus, and it shouldn't be a dirty word to you.

You're not going to get the submitting part right until you get the surrendering part right. When you put Jesus where He needs to be in your life, you'll have no trouble putting your husband where he needs to be.

Husbands, take note too. When your wife submits to you, she isn't doing it because of your incredible leadership. She's doing it because of His. You are not the point; Jesus is. That means the pressure isn't on her to follow a perfect husband. It's on both of you to follow a perfect Lord. 

If you’re single, the principle still applies. United with Christ, your complete focus is on submitting and serving Him, in everyday moments, in every relationship, and in every opportunity that comes your way.

At the cross, the Supreme Master became the supreme submitter. Jesus didn't lose anything by submitting to the Father. Neither will you.

Prayer: Lord, thank You for Jesus’ submission. Help me surrender to You first today, trusting that when You're in the right place in my life, everything else falls into its right place too. In Jesus' Name, Amen.