Authority

"All authority has been given unto Me in heaven and on earth." Matt. 28:18

To have authority is the ability to impose one's will on others. Every day we are surrounded by others who can legally impose their will on us. Just try arguing with a fire marshal about how many people can be in your public building and you will see who has authority on that subject.

What exactly is Jesus' authority over us? What authority did Jesus use to accomplish all He did while on earth? Jesus' authority came from His love -love that never stopped.

The entire time that Jesus was on earth He established this authority as His and His alone. He ignored all other kinds of earthly authority and focused only on the authority of love. Like a fire marshal who only looks into how people are threatened by fire, Jesus focused only on how people are destroyed when love stops and saved when love does not stop.

Jesus took upon Himself the role as the One who would speak and live with the authority of love to all mankind. In order to gain this authority He lived without sin and died for all of us who have every stopped love for even a moment. He became love to gain the authority of love. So, too, must His disciples.

Jesus could have used other kinds of authority on earth, but he chose love as His authority. His church must choose love as her authority as well.

The church needs to resist the temptation of trying to exercise other kinds of authority in the world. Our only authority is our love. We, too, must carry our crosses in order to speak in His name with authority.

We exist to love. If that doesn't give us authority like Jesus had, nothing else will.