Power Struggle

Romans 9:20 -- "But who are you, O man, to talk back to God?"

One look at the sweet, angelic little face of my two year old niece and you know right away that she came into this world ready to take it over. Fiercely independent and quite determined there are moments when she doesn't seem to realize that she's a child, but interacts with the rest of us as if she were a tiny adult. I'm quite confident that God has marvelous things planned for this little juggernaut.

As her parents, however, my brother and his wife have - on occasion - got their hands full. [As do all of us parents, from time to time.] I could not be more proud of them - all of them - as I watch their family unit interact. It brings a warmness to my heart. And in spite of the tiny little power struggle going on in the background as my sister-in-law attempts to put a very tired little girl to bed, I smile at the joy of hearing it. There is a fuzzy-warm kind of humor in it, as the little person attempts to outwit and out-scream the bigger person, she feels quite sure that she can win this battle of wills. In the end, of course she doesn't, and her patient but firm and gentle mother gets the tiny little rocket off to dream land. My brother and his wife have mastered the balance of gracefully allowing their daughter to develop her independence while at the same time they firmly establish their authority. It's quite a unique dance to witness. In the end, the parents have the lead in this dance - and my niece is "waltzed" into obedience.

How often do we test our own Father in a power struggle? There may be a kind of humor in this battle, as well, I suppose - as we think we actually have the right to "talk back" to our Creator or challenge His authority. But Paul reminds us in the book of Romans to remember who we really are. Who are we to think that we can argue with God? Defy His will? Or flat out disrespect Him by challenging His authority as our King?

In the time of Paul and his letters to the Roman church, if a person were to challenge the King they quickly found themselves rebuked - often in a very painful way. Sometimes property was taken, a finger or a tongue removed, or worse - the offender was sentenced to death. The point is, they knew their place and very few were willing to test the King's patience. Those who did learned quickly enough that there were severe consequences for their rebellion.

Have we forgotten? Are we so far removed from reverence that we take for granted the authority and power of our Father?

I find that I am guilty of this and like my niece - need to be reminded from time to time - I am only the child. God is THE Father.