Who's In Charge?

God created humans in his image and invited them to participate in creation and gave them authority over that creation.

It was good.

But then something went wrong.

Humans decided to seize that authority for themselves rather than share in it.  What we might term "the Fall" begins with a corruption of that authority.

When that authority organizes into social political structures and institutions it becomes what Paul says in Ephesians are rulers, powers, and authorities that we wrestle with.  Walter Wink terms this "the domination system". These political systems from Babel to Egypt to Babylon to Rome bring with them horrible injustice and slavery.

So authority that was good becomes a horror.

Jesus claimed that all authority has been given to him.

What does true divine granted human authority and power look like?

It looks like becoming a slave on behalf of another.  It looks like giving yourself over completely even to the point of death for another.  It looks like becoming last rather than first.  It looks like self giving sacrificial love.

So authority isn't the problem; it's actually the solution.  It just looks completely different than we think.

Redemption stretches further then our internal human hearts.  It goes all the way to the top... to who's in charge.