Ultimate Authority

You and I can’t go where the President of the United States can go. Just try strolling into the White House next time you’re in D.C. Or try to go to the nearest military base on your next day off and demand to see the commanding officer right away. You can call me from jail and tell me how it went. We don’t have the position, status, or authority the President has. He has access to people, places, information, and power the ordinary citizen does not have. He doesn’t have to stand in line and wait. I am sure he’ll have a hard time remembering the last time he had take a number. There are things only the president gets to do while he is in office.Of course the power of the President is limited and most of us are quick to point out whenever we think he overstepped his bounds. Most of us would consider our private lives none of his business. Were we live, how we spend our money, the work we do, our opinions, and our lifestyles, and our love-life are all things most of us would not only consider none of his business but also beyond his Presidential authority.The President is not the only one who has had his authority questioned. Pretty much everyone who has ever held any authority has had his/her authority questioned, “You can’t do that! You don’t have the authority? Who do you think you are?”No one has had his authority questioned more than God, than Jesus Christ. When Jesus dared to address and forgive a paralyzed man’s sin people were aghast. He seemingly had overstepped two lines you just don’t cross: 1. the man’s private, personal sphere, and 2. Claiming authority that only belongs to God (Mark 2:1-12).Does God really have the authority, the right to make judgments regarding our private lives, our personal spheres, our morals, the way we spend our money, our thoughts and desires, our plans, our words, and our decisions? Can he really tell us what is right and what is wrong, what is just and unjust, what is good and what is evil, what is pure and what is impure, what is righteous and what is sinful? Of course you don’t have to like the answer anymore than the authority the president yields, but that does not negate the authority. You can try to get away from the President’s and governmental authority. You can move to another country, fall of the grid, or try a rebellion or revolution. All of these, however, will not work with God. His authority is absolute, infinite, and eternal. Nothing lies outside of his authority. He has rightful access over everything in our lives “… We are the clay, and You our potter; and all of us are the work of Your hand” Isaiah 64:8 (NASB). “Nothing in all creation is hidden from God. Everything is naked and exposed before his eyes, and he is the one to whom we are accountable” Hebrews 4:13 (NLT). “Do you still want to argue with the Almighty? You are God’s critic, but do you have the answers?” Job 40:2 (NLT).Remember the paralyzed man mentioned above? This is what Jesus said and did to answer those who questioned his authority, “But so that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to (point out, define and to) forgive sins"—He said* to the paralytic, ‘I say to you, get up, pick up your pallet and go home.’ And he got up and immediately picked up the pallet and went out in the sight of everyone, so that they were all amazed and were glorifying God, saying, "We have never seen anything like this" Mark 2:10-12 (NASB parenthesis mine).God/Jesus Christ has legitimate authority over your and my life. Thus the question becomes whether or not you and I are submitted to his authority.To God be all glory, pastor Hans