An Unpopular Word

The last part of the second chapter of I Peter raises problems and issues for us in many ways.  It is a passage which lifts up the value of a spiritual discipline we might call submission.  Submission is not a popular word in our culture.  It is certainly not thought of as something virtuous.  Our society applauds the aggressive spirit that strives for the seat at the head of the table.  Our culture extols the one in charge, not the servant.  Submission is seen more as a weakness than does a lifestyle that points to the value of being strong and willing to do whatever it takes to get to the top.    

Jesus would certainly be thought of as weakling by the self made seekers of power today.  He lived His life in submission to the will of the Father.  What is often missed is the fact that His strength came from a lifestyle of submitting Himself to the will of the Father.  He did nothing apart from the divine directive which rested heavily upon His life.  At the core of His value system was love.   It was the kind of love described in I Corinthians 13:  patient, kind, empty of boastful self assertion,  always considerate of others, never irritable or resentful,  rooted in truth, and able to persevere in any set of circumstances.  His love was the kind of love that would sacrifice Himself, His own reputation, and His own life for others.  

He expressed this kind of loving lifestyle as He willingly gave His life to those who at the end of the day thought they had taken it from Him.  In John 10:17-18 we hear Jesus saying, "...I lay down my life in order to take it up again.  No one takes it from me, but I lay it down on my own accord."  If we have a desire to understand the discipline of submission as Peter is presenting it, then there is no better model for us than the Christ who was submissive to the will of the Father and Who willingly submitted Himself to the power brokers of the world so that He might die at their hands for the sake of all of us.