I had a jiu jitsu coach who always said, "if you aren't attacking, you're losing." His point was that our goal in the game should always be to make your opponent submit. When I think about the game and conditioning for the sport, I can surely draw some spiritual parallels.
I've been reading Foster's Celebration of Discipline for a while now. It's taken me a while to get through it because after reading some of these disciplines I had to take a break and evaluate the magnitude of what was being said in the chapters. One such chapter was on submission.
Today my small group assignment was to read James. Yes, chapter 4 is about submission.
So there seems to be a theme lately. Maybe God is trying to get this idea of submission through my thick skull, you think?
I'm learning that I don't have to dominate (unless we're talking jiu jitsu), be stubborn, and that submission is really about love and selflessness. These are just initial thoughts, the entry isn't developed but I just had to get these thoughts down. What are your thoughts on the topic of submission to God and others?
4 comments:
Hi Lyss,
Interesting that you should write about this today, because it seems God has been bringing this topic up a lot lately in my life, as well. Your post today was just one more way in which he is drawing my attention to the subject. My issue is submitting to my lot in life. Accepting that my family is "different" and that my life, as mom of a child with special needs is not going to look like the lives of the other moms in my MOPS group. What does this have to do with submission? For the past 5 years I have been trying to be a "normal" family. It's like I have been at the helm of a ship in the midst of a storm, with lightning striking all around and water splashing into the boay, saying, "storm? what storm? I see no storm here!" At first, I thought this was just about acceptance. But, it's more then that, it really is about submitting the Lord and handing the wheel over to him.
p.s Yes, submission really is about love and selflessness. Totally true, and totally hard. Selflessness is probably the single most difficult issue for me.
Vern, I just read this verse that pierced my heart. James 3:16-18. Man...rocked me. The thought of giving up control is scary to me but the idea that submission is orderly brings comfort. I understand you trying to ignore the storm, I do it too. I don't think submission is easy for anyone because of our sinful, selfish nature. Thanks for sharing & I'll be praying for you!
Thanks. Really good stuff!
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