Words

I was reading Robert Webber’s work Ancient-Future Faith in which he discussed the kingdom of God. I was struck by his comment that the kingdom of God brings the reign of God over all areas of our life, calling us to put ourselves under his rule as opposed to the rule of Satan. Now I realize this sounds elementary, but if so we are not recognizing the weight of that statement. For it is a call to allow someone else rule your life, to put yourself completely under the authority of another. Is that not counter-cultural? The world tells us that individuals have the right to reign over our lives -no one can tell another how to live his or her life. But coming to Christ calls us to submit ourselves to his reign. It calls us to let him become the Lord.

Is that not the problem, though, in general for all coming to Christ? The kingdom of God calls us to relinquish our autonomy and place ourselves under Christ’s rule. But we do not want to give up our rights as individuals, we do not want to put someone else in charge, we do not want to submit to an authority above ourselves. Even for the Christians, do we hold on to a any part of our life, claiming the right to reign over it. Ultimately we all find ourselves under the reign of someone. The question is if not Christ, then who?

Even the disciples that followed Jesus faced this question. At the end of John 6 we see that some disciples rejected Christ’s teachings, not willing to put themselves under his reign. Christ then asked the twelve that were close to him if they were going to leave as well. Peter’s response was, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life, and we have believed, and have come to know, that you are the Holy One of God.” And this response is still relevant for us today. If not Christ, then to whom shall we go?