NT75 Day 3: Matthew 8-12

In a day when we live with a (sometimes rightful) suspicion of authority and a historical inclination toward rebellion, submission to authority is basically a foreign concept.  We submit to speed limits because we don't want a ticket, to taxes because we have to pay, and airport security because we need to get to where we're going.  Hardly any submission is voluntarily and it seems that none is done with joy.

But here is this centurion, a commander of a cadre of hardened, tough, Roman soldiers.  He probably ate his steak rare, drank Guinness, snacked on beef jerky, and listened to Metallica Black.  Nothing about this guy seems like he's the submission-to-authority type.  But he was.

He told Jesus that He knew how authority worked and demonstrated it with his faith:  "Just say the word and the issue is done."  Jesus said He hadn't seen faith in Israel like this, meaning the people who should've known better were too proud and too independent.  But in their pride and independence, they also missed the authority of the Kingdom coming into their lives.

So here is where it boils down for me:  if I want to be a person of authority, I must be under authority.  Submitting brings authority, which is as backwards to our world as greatness from servanthood, the last being first, and so forth.  

Where does this begin?  It begins with submitting to the authorities we can see, because we can't submit to the Authority you can't see if you can't submit to the authority you can.

But that's just me thinking thoughts...