Real Authority

This morning I read in Jeremiah:

"Are you a king because you excel in cedar?

Didn’t your father eat and drink and administer justice and righteousness?

Then it went well with him."

Catch that? Jeremiah was challenging the Kings position as defined by his possessions. Sounds like a dangerous place to be [for both prophet and king].

Relying on your material wealth to define your role in this world is sort of normal. The son set his identity-foundation on the inheritance of his father: money, recognition, power, and cedar trees. Unfortunately, his father managed his role better than his son.


Oh, that I would not be so foolish.


Is it true that the rich rule? Yes. The world appears to operate that way. If you have, you lead.


But what is TRUTH? God gives us our identity. He gives us our authority. And none of that has anything to do with possessions [or cedar trees]. God works in ways the world can not understand or value.

God gives us authority to be His representatives and steward His gifts and to call on His name. God-given authority. How we see ourselves matters.
I often struggle with feeling like a REAL mom.

I have one [miracle] son. I often find myself comparing us to other families who have multiple children. As usual I come out of that comparison feeling battered and seeing myself as less than. I feel as though because I have only one offspring that my motherhood falls short of what real mothers face. My experiences are shallow and narrow. I am not really in the "club."

I know that this is a lie. I know that the number of children do not define motherhood. I know truth is that God has given me the authority of motherhood.

But I still fight this lie.

Maybe I always will.

But for today, I am grasping a new view of my God-Given authority. I am His. I belong to His family. I am entrusted with using my authority to training the next generation, under His authority.