LEST WE FORGET!

KISS THE SON – OR BE DESTROYED!

Psalm 2:12 (New International Version)

Kiss the Son, lest he be angry
and you be destroyed in your way,
for his wrath can flare up in a moment.
Blessed are all who take refuge in him.
[click here for Psalm 2[



We Quakers often bridle at the thought of submission to anyone or any being! We claim to be used by God as leaders in society. And, as a group, we historically have been. Additionally, many among us are indeed leaders. Some recognized as leaders in the local meeting. Many as literal leaders in nearly every sphere of life, business, and society. Some even as political leaders.

But we Quakers are not immune to God's ways - God's revelations about himself. Mark D. Roberts puts the sometime misapplied - sometimes offense - verse above into context:

As we read Psalm 2 today, our context is quite different. We no longer have human kings ruling over us. And we have come to understand that Psalm 2 points ahead to the one who was fully the Son of God. Thus, when we read verse 12, we hear a call to kiss, that is, to submit to Jesus, the Son of God. We who lead human organizations, whether governments, businesses, churches, or families, will be blessed in our leadership if we submit to the Son of God as a representative of the whole Trinity. When we offer ourselves and our leadership to the Lord, when we bow to his superlative sovereignty, when we seek his ways, when we yearn to honor him in all we do, then we are guided and empowered to lead in fruitful ways. On the other hand, if we get too puffed up with our own authority, if we forget to get on our knees before the Son of God and "kiss" him, if we seek our own glory, then our leadership will be ultimately fruitless.

For me, the regular discipline of offering myself to the Lord is essential to my healthy and effective functioning as a leader, whether in my professional or personal life. When I acknowledge God's sovereignty over me, recognizing that I am a steward of that which belongs to God alone, submitting my plans and dreams to him, then I am in a position to be blessed in my leadership.

QUESTIONS FOR REFLECTION: What helps you to submit to the Lord? Where are you a leader? How might your leadership be enhanced and reshaped if you submitted yourself to the Lord each day?

by Mark D. Roberts
Laity Lodge Senior Director and Scholar-in-Residence
[from: Daily Reflection 9/26/2010]

So I Ask Again-

What helps you to submit to the Lord?

How have you been blessed by doing so?

Where do you stand in danger of a flare up

of His wrath!

photo:
Father & Son by © dreawd @ webshots.com