Yoked to Jesus

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“Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me; for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden light.” †  Mathew 11: 28-30  What is the labour and burden that Jesus is asking me to deal with? Perhaps I have to let go of the compulsive burden (or is it a sort of entitlement?) that my spouse and children should choose a spiritual path that I know to be right. Jesus accompanied Judas Iscariot to the very end but never deprived him of his freedom to choose his own destiny. Jesus on the other hand, uninterrupted by Judas's choice to reject him, continues to accomplish his mission. He does become a victim of Judas's betrayal but he seldom takes on the victim's identity. In divine wisdom, Jesus chooses to die in our place (and that of Judas) in a redeeming act of love. Rather than being compelled to fix those whom God has entrusted to my headship by m

Authority of Perfect Love

God our father has authored our lives in perfect love and that's why He has authority over us. God created us not out of necessity but out of love. He created us so that we might be like Him. We are created in God's own image that is "perfect love".

God's authority is the result of His love for us. Because His authority is founded on perfect love, it does not insist to assert His own will upon us. It instead upholds and respects our freedom to choose. His authority wants us to make our choices in perfect freedom. His loving authority desires to perfect us even when we reject His perfect love and choose evil. We see this love at work in the self gift of Jesus on the cross and His resurrection restoring for us what we lost due to our disobedience.

In lieu of the perfect reparation Christ accomplished on the cross He gave us His authority by commanding us to love as He loves us. This is why the authority that God grants us as husbands, parents, administrators, managers etc ought to image the nature of God's authority.

It is by our total submission to Christ that we receive His authority. Perfect submission to Christ is our response to His perfect love. In perfect submission to Christ we receive the nature of God. God's authority over us is the model for a husband's authority over his wife. Our submission to Christ's authority images wife's submission to her husband who loves her like Christ does. When the authority is sought from Christ and is executed in any vocation of life, the nature of that authority will be one of self giving love. No one feels utilized.

All conflicts arise because we assume authority without submitting to Christ's perfect love. There is no fear or insecurity in perfect love. When we do not love as Christ loves we are succumbing to fear and insecurity which leads us to extort the other in pretext of filling up what we feel is lacking in us.

Perfect submission to God's authority leads us to Perfect knowledge [this knowledge is experienced in a relationship with Christ]. Perfect knowledge perfects our love, Perfect love leads to perfect authority. Perfect authority is the character of the kingdom God has restored for us.

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