the Second Week after Epiphany
free while helping to build churches and support pastors in Uganda.
Click here to learn more!
Daily Devotionals
Voice of the Lord
Everyone is to obey the governing authorities (Romans 13:1).
Fear of authority, in the sense of reverence, is crucial for spiritual health. Yet there is also a phobia that seeks to avoid authority if at all possible. God places authority in our lives for our benefit. Our first authority in life is our parents. There are also teachers, elders, civic authorities and employers.Many have seen in the commandment to honor our fathers and mothers the implication that we are to honor all authorities.
Our lives should be open to the proper role of authority, recognizing that all authority represents God's authority. Even if the authority does not always act with integrity, we are to respect and submit. There is a limit, or course: if we are told to violate the command of Scripture, God's commandment must override authority for God is ultimately in charge.
If we cannot change the authorities in our lives (for example, by changing jobs) then we are to trust the providence of God. A harsh authority can build character in us. This requires emunah (faith) in God. Remember, he often works through authority to conform us to the image of Yeshua.
...be rightly related to authority.
DJ
The Voice of the Lord, Copyright © 1998 by the Lewis and Harriet Lederer Foundation, Inc. Published by Messianic Jewish Publishers, Distributed by Messianic Jewish Resources, www.messianicjewish.net. All rights reserved. Used by permission. No part of this article may be reproduced in print or on the web, or transmitted in any form, without the written permission of the publisher.
