True Submission

Adelphoi, it remains an honour to be a conduit of blessing to you through these writings. Thank you for always coming to read.

It’s important that you don’t just read because you got the link but read because you honour the word of God.

Today I write to you a truth that still blesses my heart and causes me to bow my heart to God in prayer each time I remember it.

This post may be short but it’ll bless you.

I have learnt in recent times the importance of submission but even more I have come to understand the spirit of submission and believe me it is humbling and beautiful. I have not experienced it fully but I desire it strongly.

Most of us have heard a lot about submission but not the spirit of true submission. We are taught the benefits and all that of submission, which may be true (depending on what you’ve heard) but we’ve not drunk of the spirit of truth about submission.

Young believers seek submission at the feet of a mentor that they chose based on an impression they had.

We have learnt to submit to mentors and spiritual fathers but this is just the doctrine of man… I know that’s not in line with many teachings and you may say it’s in the scriptures but the truth is we inferred it.

Now I must say at this point that I’m not against mentorship and all but I’m here to focus your attention on the spirit of submission which is the true submission.

James 3:17 (KJV)
“But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, and easy to be intreated, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality, and without hypocrisy.”

“and easy to be intreated“…. In different versions, this means the one who is wise is willing to yield to others, obedient, open to reason, and NIV says submissive.

Listen, you have heard it said that a wise person submits himself to a spiritual mentor who is ahead of him in the faith. Today I tell you that the one who has truly received the spirit of wisdom from above is first submissive to the brethren.

Listen to me, if your friends in the faith, fellow believers, those who you’re labouring alongside with cannot correct you and call you a hypocrite and you cannot take to the correction, no matter how many “yes sir” you say to your mentor, you are not submissive.

Brother, sister, if my brethren cannot speak to me, no matter how many mentors I have, I am hypocritical.

Who can I report you to? If your mentor is who you point to first, I think you’re being religious. What about that brother with whom you go for rehearsal? What about that sister you have long conversations about the precepts of God with? What about those with whom you bow your knees regularly to pray “your kingdom come, Lord“?

Listen, if you cannot submit to them, you can never truly submit to a teacher or mentor.

Jesus never taught us to submit to mentors but to love and serve one another. Paul never taught submission to mentorship either but he said “submitting yourselves one to another in brotherly love” (Ephesians 5:21).

I often pray that the Lord will surround me with such friends, that the Lord will surround me with those who have the boldness to correct me, a boldness that doesn’t come from seniority in the faith but from brotherly love… A love that comes from our daily communion.

I also pray that my acceptance will not be out of respect for the person’s knowledge of scripture but out of the wisdom that is easily entreated.

Maybe the problem is that we don’t have true fellowship with each other and everything we do together is all formality and structure.

Maybe the problem is that we are not as wise as we think.

May our wisdom come from above, that we may learn to submit to brethren.

Thank you for reading today. God bless you.

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