God's Building Blocks
You find yourself in a completely white room. It’s so white, that you don’t even know if there’s walls surrounding you, a floor below, or a ceiling above. It is the picture of perfect peace. There is nothing to think about, nothing to concern you, just white.
Just then He enters the room. He looks at you with a smile that lights up every part of your being.
“Hello friend,” he says.
“Hi,” you say excitedly.
He sits on the floor and invites you to sit down also. As you sit there you look into His eyes and can tell that He has heavy news to share with you. It doesn’t necessarily seem like bad news, just news that is difficult to process.
He smiles and then pulls out a green marker. He begins to draw on the floor in front of both of you. He draws one square and smiles while looking over at you. He then draws 10 other squares on top of the one, all smaller in comparison to the first one, and yet all supported by the first one.
“I would like to show you 2 scenarios,” he says. “The first is more common than the latter.”
As He waves His hand above the squares they appear to come alive. The bottom square begins to look uncomfortable being where it is. It jostles and squirms. And yet the other squares remain. It recognizes that most of its view of what is above is taken up by those annoying blocks that seem to be holding it down. Eventually its top line appears to raise in the middle of it ever so slightly. It begins to take the form of a peaked roof. And then over an amount of time it gets steeper and steeper. One block falls off and it can feel the load lighten. It also begins to feel like it can see better and hear better. And so this continues until one by one, each block falls off the larger block’s top. And now, a square with a pitched roof stands there basking in the space around it. Nothing is holding it down and nothing is in its way. It has fought for its place and it has been allowed to win. The other blocks that fell off the roof, simply disappear and are no longer around. It is in essence, on its own and does not have any obstructions to its desires. It is alone.
“Do you understand?” Jesus says to you as He passes his hand over the picture, causing it to return to its original form.
“I think so,” you respond.
“I will give you a hint for this next one. The bottom square is you,” He says smiling.
He motions for you to watch as the second scenario begins.
The large square at the bottom and the smaller ones on top remain. At one point the large square squirms a little, trying to get used to the discomfort that this is. But then it settles and remains. Immediately after this movement the bottom of the large square begins to glow with a blue light. It appears as if something is beneath it, causing this light to form.
A moment later one of the top squares, turns on one of its sharp points and appears to be digging into the top of the larger square. The large square remains, even in the midst of what looks painful, and in an instant a streak of blue light shoots up from the bottom of the large square and right into the smaller square that is trying to pierce through the top of the larger square. It is as if the light holds up the smaller square, just enough that its point can’t contact the larger squares surface. The streak of light remains there.
A moment later another small square begins to bounce up and down, harder and harder, until it appears that it will cause the larger square to start to sag in the middle.
Another streak of light appears, again holding up that small block so that it is now bouncing against the force of the light and not the larger square.
You turn and look at Jesus.
He smiles and continues to watch.
As you turn back you see many other streaks of light that have formed through the larger square and up into the smaller squares. It becomes a beautiful tapestry, causing the whole of the larger square to glow with this blue flamelike hue, while the streaks of light tell a story, not of blessing like a soul would desire, but of adventure and fullness like Jesus himself would write into a story.
The picture disappears from the floor and you find yourself taking a deep breath.
“This is your life, friend. You are the large square. Your value and importance to the kingdom, to those who are in authority over you, and to Me, are priceless. The first scenario is what most believe they must do when authority becomes uncomfortable. They simply find a way to knock them off or get out from underneath them. And with that they remove themselves from all the blessings that exist in an order that I’ve created.
The second scenario is for the one that understands the necessity of My Order. They understand that there are those in their lives that they are to submit to, and there are those in their lives that are to submit to them. Even in the painful situations, because I was the foundation, I was able to rescue you from the pain of the bad decisions of the authority you were under, but only if you were submitted to that authority, can I work in that way. And did you notice at the end how beautiful the picture of my love flowing through you to those who are your authority is?
There’s one other thing I want you to understand. When I look at you, I see the authority that I’ve placed you under as less important than you on your journey. It is the same with each individual. This is why they were smaller in these images. I see your role as the most important role. And whether or not your mind can understand these things, you are actually upholding them, and supporting them, and helping them become what they could not on their own. But, you will only accomplish this if you commit to staying where I’ve placed you, under the authority that I’ve called you to be under. Only then can I use you and show you just how powerful I AM.”
With that He stands up, and reaching for your hand He pulls you to your feet.
He hugs you with an embrace that feels like the warmth of the hot sun piercing through a large window into a cold room.
I’ve questioned why in the last months this issue of submission and Divine order has been what the Lord has continually asked me to write about. As I’ve continued to read and learn about it, I think I understand how important it is to Him.
Since we can not truly enter the Kingdom without it, then by disagreeing with it or ignoring it we are essentially saying, ‘God I don’t want all of what you have to offer. I only want the parts that don’t really cost me.’
But you friend, are better than that. And we, I believe, are on this journey to seeing true freedom in our lives. The path begins at a doorway marked surrender, and there are many different tests of how to surrender in the process. This test of submission to authority that God has placed you under, is a big difficult and messy test, but it is also incredibly defining for where you are on your journey with Jesus, and just how far you want to go.
Remember, we have a free will, so just because God hasn’t said audibly, that you are going the wrong way, doesn’t mean that you are not. We must balance the words that come to us through His voice and others with the teachings we find in the scriptures. They all must be in harmony, and then we will be able to know without doubt what He is saying and where He is leading.
I want to encourage you to do something. Take a piece of paper in a journal or the back of your bible and draw this picture of a large square, and small squares on top. And then write names in the small squares for each person that you are called to submit to in your life. It could be a pastor, parent, boss, husband, coach, teacher, (or anyone else that the Bible calls us to submit to). Once you’ve done this I want you to draw lines from the bottom of the big square to each one of the smaller squares. As you do this I want you to pray and ask God to help you see how you are to support them, raise them up, encourage them, and help them become what they are called to be. After this, I want you to ask the Lord to show you any ways that you have failed to submit to authority and thereby stopped up His ability to work in these situations. As He reveals things, simply ask for forgiveness and ask for a plan for how you can change it. And then write it all down and commit to staying in the place that God has put you in and filling up that place with your prayers and kingdom mindset.
In my experience, when a God designed order is in place and everyone agrees to where they are at and the purpose within, there exists freedom like none other, love that can only be explained as God-like and an order bringing peace that flows like a river. But this is because it is God’s plan, not man’s ideas on how to keep some down and lift others up. That was never God’s intention in His plan, it is His intention to make all things work together for the good of those who are called according to His purpose. I believe with all my heart that this truth of submission to authority, is that path.
Join me on it, friends, and let us be known by this: those who lay down their lives daily, for the King and His kingdom and follow Him even through His most difficult and costly teachings.
What does submission look like? Some of you are wrestling with this question right now. I will discuss this in upcoming blogs, but for now, picture it as this: However you would treat Jesus as He leads, treat that person also. Honor, respect, love, and the list goes on. Remember it’s not about what they deserve, it’s about obedience to what God has said is His order. And friend, Obedience always brings blessing!