October 2009 - English

I am the LORD, and there is no other; There is no God besides Me. (Isa 45:5a) God makes this wonderful statement when speaking to Cyrus, the king of a heathen nation. What is interesting is that this is not so much a statement of fact: that there aren’t any other god’s. But rather a statement of God’s greatness: because He is, it is impossible for there to be any others. The sad thing is that Adam, when tempted by the devil, tried to establish his own throne in the heavens. That desire to be in control continues to this day, though it is manifest in different ways. For some it is the desire to be the Chief Executive of a large company, for others a president or prime minister, for others just controlling some part of the world around them. We all believe that we have the right to reign, but none has the ability to reign rightly, except God Himself. The answer is to give up our life so that God can re-establish His reign in our hearts. This is what Jesus meant when He said, “Whoever seeks to save his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life will preserve it.” (Luk 17:33) When we submit once again to God’s rule, we lose our life (or our right to reign) and gain God’s life and are once again rightly related to our creator. Paul reiterates this when he says, “I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.” (Gal 2:20) Has God been allowed to re-establish His reign in your heart? If so, then the verses that talk about submitting one to another will be easy to follow, because we are all submitted to the one true God.