4 | By What Authority

A marriage ceremony typically draws to a close with the pastor uttering the words: “By the power vested in me by the State of Nebraska, I now pronounce you Husband and Wife.”   In this case, the state of Nebraska recognizes the pastor as an ordained clergy of a religious organization and therefore grants him the legal right and authority to conduct marriage ceremonies with the associated responsibility of filing documentation with the appropriate governmental body.   Another example was already presented in our 1^st reflection.  Who grants the umpire the authority to oversee the playing of the baseball game?   That would be the organization, league, etc. responsible for the coordination of the games, the times, places, and the teams who come together to compete.   The teacher of the classroom has authority because the state department of education recognizes her expertise and has granted oversite in her learning environment.  The police officer has authority because he represents the legal system in the city, state, or country which he represents.  In each of these cases the person in reference is extended authority by a governing body to execute the responsibility of their role and be accountable for actions which must be wholly consistent with the organization’s mission, guidelines, laws, rules, and/or code of conduct. 

When Jesus humbled Himself and came into this world as the God-man, He came representing His Father: 

God had a plan of salvation which called upon the only begotten Son to take on the form of man, doing the will of the Father – the image of the invisible God.  In perfect obedience to the Law, Jesus was the second Adam, the unblemished lamb who endured the cross becoming the propitiation for our sins.  By faith in the One whose sacrifice culminated in His bearing the full wrath of God, we have an atonement for sin such that we are declared righteous in His sight – our sin imputed to Christ and His righteousness imputed to all who believe on His name.  As Peter writes,

Consider then by way of comparison the different authorities in this discussion – the pastor, the umpire, the teacher and the police officer – with Jesus Christ.  He came representing the Creator of all things, the God of the universe, the final authority in all things.  How do we measure the gravity of the words uttered by such an authority?  I think of Paul’s declaration in the book of Romans:

Romans 11:33-34

Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable his judgments, and his paths beyond tracing out! “Who has known the mind of the Lord?  Or who has been his counselor?”

The words of Christ are powerful, impactful, and authoritative.  His wisdom is not something we find grounded in the wisdom of men.  His words reflect the very instruction of the omniscient, omnipotent God – the author of all things.  His counsel is staggering in power and authority.  And what is our response to such authority? 

Let’s come back to the wedding ceremony for another moment.  One of the main assignments for the pastor of a wedding ceremony is to share thoughts with the bride, groom, the wedding party, and everyone in attendance regarding this union taking place “before God and these witnesses.”  How many times, following a wedding ceremony, will you ask the bride and groom what their “takeaways” were from the pastor’s message.  Answer: “I have no idea what he said.”  But they were standing right there.  How could they possibly not know what was said?  What is even worse is the whole message was directed specifically at the bride and groom.  They helped define the ceremony, created the wedding vows, did all the planning.  And yet, they often have no idea what was shared.  They were distracted, nervous, frightened, anxious, etc.  They missed the charge given by the pastor when it comes to the vows they were taking as they became husband and wife, forming an intimate bond before God.  Sounds like some pretty important stuff to not remember.  Thank goodness for audio/video recording technology.  The pastor might say to the couple after the fact, “these words of mine” were meant to instruct you, to challenge you, to make you aware of the significance of this union before God.  You will need to sacrifice, submit, be humble and work together to make it work.  It is all about putting the other person before yourself.  Marriage is a serious commitment, not to be taken lightly. 

In our last reflection, we talked about how God uses the intimacy of marriage to describe the desire he has for our relationship with Him.  He has a message for us in this parable where he calls us to heed “these words of Mine”.    We have established Jesus’ authority, representing the Father – the supreme source, the power, the authority over all things.  He substantiated that authority with the miracles He performed while here on the earth.  And so, He shares his words with us, His bride, concerning our relationship to Him.  He calls us to build our life foundation on Him, strengthen our relationship to Him, our dependence upon Him.  He speaks with authority.  The message is about building your life-house on Him as the only stable, reliable, dependable foundation, enduring through all the storms of life that come our way.  Ground yourself in Him.  The Message is clear, and we can’t afford to be like the new couple who doesn’t remember what was shared.

This isn’t the first time this phrase “these words of Mine” are used.  If we go back to the book of Deuteronomy, God is speaking to Israel, challenging them to hear and obey what He has to say.

God wants us to get into the habit of becoming intimate with His words such that we naturally reflect on them as importance guidance in our daily lives.  Have you ever wondered how long it takes to form a habit?  There is a lot of research out there on this topic with the mechanisms and associated time required varying significantly.   Given human nature, we usually don’t have to work too hard to form a bad habit.  But when it comes to developing good habits, it takes focus, effort and the key element of consistency.

Whether professionally or personally, our habits can come to define us. Our good habits can lead us to make progress and become successful, while our bad habits can cause us to fail. Habits are powerful, and they are difficult to make or break, but if you can gain control over your habits — both positive and negative — you can forge yourself into the person you want to become.  Of course, gaining control over your habits is easier said than done. Some go their whole lives without considering the fact that they can construct their own positive habits, or never succeed in breaking the habits that drag them down. There’s no shortcut to mastering your habits, since it’s always going to take discipline and hard work, but there’s one principle that can guide you to a greater success rate: the idea that habits are grounded in consistency. 

Entrepreneur.com:  “Consistency Is the Key to Breaking Bad Habits and Forming Good Ones”

God understands this about us; hence, His “words” in Deuteronomy.   He calls us to “consistently” ingrain His words into our thoughts, day by day using every opportunity.  King David acknowledges this approach when he writes:

I titled this reflection, “By what Authority?”  Here we have the Creator of all things, speaking with ultimate authority, providing the key to the construction of a dependable foundation upon which to build our lives.  He instructs us through His word that we might build “positive habits” through consistent application such that it becomes our way of living.    The challenge for us is this: 

While many acknowledge an appreciation for what God has to say, they nevertheless decide to invest their time in other places, drawing upon other sources of wisdom and insight for the proper construction of their lives.   For some the idea of submitting to another authority as reflected in yielding decisions is offensive.  Others just don’t buy into who Jesus claimed to be and would argue against the authority I have given Him as the Son of God.  And some embrace the person speaking, seek His teaching, long to make His words a habit of the heart, and pursue how to build a life-house foundation on His word.   They desire this intimate love relationship with the God who gave up everything to rescue them from their despair and become a source of joy.  God gave us these words because He loves us and calls us to walk with Him through this life journey.  You’re the builder, you’re the general contractor, and it’s your life.  But keep this one thing in mind.  There is an inspector, who will ultimately evaluate your life-house building choices.  The building “code” for His evaluation will be “these words of mine”.    His is the supreme authority – there is no one else to whom one can or will need to appeal.  He is the final arbiter.  

I am discovering from my journey that this is all a process.  We don’t just automatically have a perfect relationship with God, but it builds over time – perhaps in part through developing good habits and shedding bad ones.  God wants to walk with us, as we seek His face, persevering through the many different storms life will pound against our foundation.  We are never alone and the more we walk with Him the more we discover His presence in ways we can’t explain.  This conundrum should not be confounding as we consider our limited understanding juxtaposed against an infinite God whose power and majesty dwarfs our finiteness.  Allow God to nurture your “marriage” relationship with Him, build your life house upon His words and seek with great anticipation the joyous outcome of such commitment.