The Awful Reality of the Good News of the Gospel of God

“Without humility, there’s no submission; without submission, there are no relationships of trust; without relationships of trust, you won’t make yourself vulnerable; unless you make yourself vulnerable, no one can influence you; and without the influence of others, you won’t change.”

— Bill Hull, Christlike, 2010.

ONE of the secrets of the faith was revealed to me when my former life was crushed and Christ began to take over: I needed to step out of God’s way.  I became a master of getting out of God’s way in that season; and blessings of character growth (grace, patience, closeness with the Lord) followed me.  Getting out of God’s way is just phraseology for submission.  Far too many times since then, however, I’ve gotten in his way.  Far too many times I haven’t submitted — for Jesus’ sake — in this day, and in many days that sprinkle a past, a decade stretched back.  And yet to fail to submit is a failure to trust the Lord Jesus…

Oh Lord, forgive me for my overweening pride; that’s my sincere prayer, this very day.

God revealed afresh to me, through the abovementioned book, then separately through a conversation with my father-in-law, that submission — unto the perfection of mutual submission — is central to the real Christian life.  It separates the real disciple from the also-ran.  (Not that mutual submission is always achievable, but as a Christian I can submit for the sake of Christ, and pray in his name that reconciliation might be completed.  It’s all I can do; and it’s enough.)

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The awful reality of the good news of the gospel of God — the gospel’s truth in untainted rawness — is it’s dependent totally on our submission.  Humility stands no chance of seeing us through to change without submission.  (And to change us is the gospel’s goal!)  But what we think is an awful reality is actually the key to us securing the abundant life.

Submission is the best sign of humility; the pouring of contempt on our pride — which is something only we can do, as individuals under Christ’s care.

“Submission is a love word before it is an authority word.”

— Bill Thrall & Bruce McNicol,
Leadership Catalyst Publishing, 2000.

Submission: it seems so awful a concept, especially for those who have submitted; where that submission was abused, by what turned out to be untrustworthy ministers.  And yet as Christ went to the cross, he too was abused; about as much as we could imagine anyone abused.  Our fear of not obeying the Lord must overcome our fear of trusting that we might be abused again.  Ready to get back on the horse of your submission?  Unto growth?

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Submission is an ugly word, even in today’s church.  So many who have submitted were abused.  Yet without submission, the Holy Spirit cannot change us.  Obviously submission in a change context also requires a safe and trustworthy environment.

The truth of the gospel is palpable in this way: it changes us.  But change cannot take place without humility, and humility stems from submission.  There’s no other way.

It is good to submit, to unlock the capacity to change, for Christ’s sake.

© 2016 Steve Wickham.