Livin Lively

By Peggy Lively           

            I was eating lunch with my husband a few days ago when I made a new friend. We were sitting at a table for two, and he sat in a chair on one side of the table and I sat on the bench side of the table. The bench was a long one which was shared on one side by several different tables. As my husband and I sat talking and eating, suddenly I felt someone nudge up close to me on the bench. It was a cute blonde headed little girl about sixteen months old. Her mother sat at the table next to us and kept calling her back, “Madeline, come here, Madeline,” as she reached out for her to come back. But the more her mother tried to persuade her to come back, the more she clung on to me, a total stranger. She was very cute and sweet, but I thought this was very ironic that she was holding on to me and pulling away from her mother.

            I was flattered that Madeline wanted to hug on me and sit in my lap, but she wasn’t coming to me because she knew me and loved me. She was holding on to me simply because she did not want her mother. Her mother represented authority, and she was rebelling against her even if it meant turning to a total stranger. It was interesting to observe how our human nature even at such a young age has a tendency to rebel against authority. Nobody had to teach Madeline how to do that; it came very naturally.

            Sometimes it is very hard to respect those whom God has put in authority over us. It may be a boss, supervisor, husband, teacher or parent that seems very demanding and unreasonable. Or maybe we just don’t like being told what to do. So, like Madeline, we run away, to something or someone else. We aren’t really concerned with what we are running to as much as what we are running from. However, the Bible tells us that we must obey our leaders and respect their authority (Hebrews 13:17), and that we should pray for those in authority over us. (I Timothy 2:2) When is the last time you prayed for someone in authority over you?

            The Bible also says, “Then Jesus came to them and said, ‘All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.’” (Matthew 28:18) Jesus is our ultimate authority, so we need to consider how we are responding to Him as well. Are we clinging to Him and His Truths, or are we rebelling and running from His instructions? He knows us better than our own Mothers and loves us more deeply as well.

            This week, think about how you are yielding to Jesus’ Lordship in your life and how you are respecting those whom He has placed in authority over you. I am thankful to my new friend Madeline for reminding me of this life lesson.