I have two random thoughts to post tonight. I’m too tired for anything too elaborate, so enjoy what I hope to be a short post on (1) Submission and (2) Worship.
1. SUBMISSION
I recently came across a quote by Gretchen Gaebelein Hull, a well known Christian feminist and author of the book Equal to Serve. In a rather poignant plea she threw out this challenging idea to her fellow Christian sisters back in 1987:
“Can you drink the cup of submission? Yes, I realize full well what many of you are thinking: ‘That’s all we’ve ever done!’ But I would ask of you: can you now drink the cup as Christ means you to drink it? Not because you must, but because you choose to? Would you be willing to put aside your legitimate rights, if the time to exercise them is not yet right in your particular circumstances? Would you be willing to put your career on hold, if that is in the best interests of your family or your cultural milieu? Will you work for change in a patient and loving manner rather than sinking into anger and bitterness? Will you commit yourself to work in a Christ-like way, even if you are in un-Christlike situations?”
This quote really challenged me not only as a woman who hopes to be a wife, but also as a christian who is (or may be) called to submit to an authority at any God given moment. When I first read this quote, my mind instantly went back to the concern raised by the mission agency I was preparing to work with in Japan: They were concerned with how I might deal with pastoral authority, specifically a male pastor’s authority over me and even more specifically as a single woman working/living/churchin’ it up in the male dominated society that is Japan. In talking to them, I thought I would be fine, but perhaps the challenge that this quote presented me is indicative of an area that I still need work in. Internally something has been gripped by Hull’s words and I can’t seem to shake them…Can I really drink from the cups that God gives me? Especially those that might require me to submit? hmmm…
2. WORSHIP
I am doing a discipleship study with a girl from my church’s youth group. This week our study was on Worship. Revelation 4:11 talks about God being worthy of all honor and glory and power. I agree. God in and of Himself is fully worthy of our worship.
I DO NOT want to make light of or dull down the power of what Christ did on the cross, but should we just worship God because of what He did for us? To me, that seems like a rather selfish approach to worship. If we say God is worthy of worship because of what he did for us on the Cross, then aren’t we saying God is worthy of worship because of what it enables or allows us? Is looking at the cross the wrong place to start when it comes to worship? and if the cross weren’t there, would we be as inclined to worship God as much as we do?
a heart set on pilgrimage 