I’m not entirely sure when I first gave my life to Christ. I do know it wasn’t one of those stories you hear where a bright light shines down from heaven and someone is radically changed. My story is more like accepting to rejecting, rejecting to accepting and everything in between. Yes, no, no, no, yes, no, yes, yes and then one day my faith outweighed my doubts. Sadly enough there are times when I’m not sure things have changed all that much : ) With the beginning of a new year I always find myself very sentimental. I think this year I got choked up during Home Alone and National Lampoon’s despite seeing each numerous times. You know the scene where Kevin and his mom embrace. Then when Clark gets trapped in the attic watching old family movies. I’ve always really been a sensitive soul.
As I look back on my life there’s certainly a lot of things I would change. For starters, I’d never let my mom throw away my Magic Johnson converse basketball shoes. Those things had just the right amount of yellow and purple combined with a near perfect design. That shoe is a timeless classic. Secondly, I wish I had listened to my dad when he had told me to stay in the barn. Why you ask? Well, as a kid my sister and I’s cat had gotten stuck on the roof of the barn which was about 12-15 feet high. In another 10 years it will be at least 25 feet high : ) The rescue plan was simple, my dad would climb up a ladder and grab the cat while everyone else would stay safely inside the barn. Nice and simple, right? Well a certain someone get impatient while my dad was doing his best to save his least favorite animal. I walked out of the barn before my dad gave us the green light and the moment I walked out is the moment that stinking cat jumped from its perch. And yes, cats do land on all fours and in this instance all four landed on my cranium with claws blazing. It hurt. Hard to top, I know. But a close third regret was a lack of understanding of the difference between accepting and submitting to Christ. I had always thought accepting was enough and that once I knew I wasn’t going to hell what else was there. I assumed I accepted his offer and got my “ticket” punched to heaven and that everything else will fall into place. He was on my team and with him I was unstoppable. It didn’t take too long before I found myself frustrated and burnt out. I accepted his offer but was confused why I wasn’t seeing the abundance he promised. So, I tried harder and did more and more. It took some time but eventually I figured out there is a big difference between accepting and submitting. Acceptance without submission is like having the winning lottery ticket but never cashing it in. You show everyone your winning ticket as evidence of how your life has changed, but others see it and know it hasn’t really changed your life because you haven’t cashed it in. Now think of the “ticket” symbolizing our acceptance of Christ with the payout coming through our submission to Him. Acceptance gets you into heaven and submission unleashes heaven. Acceptance without submission is waiting for heaven while acceptance with submission is bringing heaven near. The key to spiritual riches in the physical world is submission. Upon acceptance you have access to these riches but through submission is when you get “paid”. You have to cash your acceptance ticket in through submission to Christ to get the real payout. There’s a verse in the Bible that provides an interesting perspective.
Delight yourself in the LORD and he will give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the Lord; trust in him and he will do this: He will make your righteousness shine like the dawn, the justice of your cause like the noonday sun. Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him; do not fret when men succeed in their ways, when they carry out their wicked schemes. Refrain from anger and turn from wrath; do not fret—it leads only to evil.
Psalm 37:4-8
As you read these verses I think it’s safe to say submission isn’t something to be taken lightly or for granted. Commit your way, trust in Him, He will make, be still, wait patiently, do not fret and refrain. I think God knows us pretty well and what our tendencies are. Now everyone has his or her own idea of what submission is but I think it’s important we all get on the same page. The Greek word for submitting is “hupotassó”. It’s found several times throughout the Bible and actually was formed by the putting together of two Greek words. The first is “hupo” which means properly, under, often meaning “under authority” of someone working directly as a subordinate. The second is “tasso” which is defined as arrange (put in order); to place in a particular order, appoint; ordain, set in place. “Tasso” was commonly used in ancient military language for “designating” (“appointing, commissioning”) a specific status. When you put those together you get the Greek word for submitting which is defined as I place under, subject to, put myself into subjection, under God’s arrangement. I think of it as placing one’s life in alignment with the priorities of God. I’m certainly not trying to down play the decision to accept Christ. But is acceptance without submission really acceptance? The decision of acceptance should be rooted in submission. Every person that has accepted Christ did so as a means for change. Each one of us hopefully comes to a point in life where we recognize the need for change. Acceptance is the realization we can’t change on our own and submission is the decision knowing God can. We can accept the fact that we need change but only through submission will we see the fruit. You can accept Jesus is King but without submission to His Kingship you won’t reap the change you desire. Submission is giving up our petty dreams and superficial wants in place of the glory of God. While acceptance brings you into the family of Christ, submission is what makes you Christ like. A submitted life is one that obeys Christ, placing their faith in Him because He is worthy. Jesus’ life wasn’t extraordinary because of what He accomplished. Jesus’ life became extraordinary because of who He submitted to and through His submission God changed the world forever.
During the days of Jesus’ life on earth, he offered up prayers and petitions with loud cries and tears to the one who could save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverent submission.
Hebrews 5:7
