Living In Submission

There a lot of ugly words in our society and not all of them are spelled with four letters.  One of those ugly words is submission.  No one wants to live in submission to anything or anyone.   Some say we took care of that with the American Revolution when we said no to being ruled by a king.  It is used to be that there was in the marriage ritual a word about women being submissive to their husbands, but as can be imagined, that word fell into disuse quickly as our culture evolved to its present state.  The good old American spirit of independence makes us all equal and no one cares for the word anymore.    

Of course, it is a common word and theme in the Scripture which is a problem for some who seek to follow Christ.  Kneeling in churches used to be a more common thing than it is now.  The only time anyone kneels anymore is to receive holy communion and then it happens only in those traditions which allow for it as a part of the ritual.  Of course, there is some behind the pew kneeling in some traditions, but it is a group thing and not something that really sets the individual apart as one kneeling in submission to God.    There seems to be something within us which rebels at the idea of bending the knee in submission even it is before God.  We would rather do our submission from a sitting position, or maybe even a standing one.   

The actual act of kneeling may not be as significant as the spirit which is in the heart.  The Word calls us to live in submission to God.  This means we regard Him as a supreme power, a final authority, and the One whose will is more important than what we would will for ourselves.  To live in submission to another affirms that there is an agenda more important than our own agenda and for many of us who live and seek to serve Christ in the present day, this is a real problem.