Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ.

Ephesians 5:21

I am not an authentic “submitter.”  I do not like to submit.  I like to take charge!  I want everyone to line up behind me.  I want others to submit to me.  I certainly do not look around to see whom I want to submit to.  Does that make me the problem?  According to the Holy Spirit of God, it does.

Why, I ask, should I submit?  The answer is as simple as it is disturbing – Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ.  By submitting I am revering or worshiping Christ.  That thought is difficult for me to grasp. Then I see – submit to one another.  I think I have convinced myself that I must submit to Christ.  That makes sense because he is my Savior.  But to submit to ordinary people who are seeking to follow Christ like me – now, that is a different story!

If I hear the voice of the Spirit, it is that by submitting to others, I am submitting to Christ.

I leave at that.  Paul did not say, “When you feel like it.”  No, even when it hurts.  I am a student in the school of grace.  Teach me, Lord, to submit to you and to others.