Checkpoints: Ultimate Authority

by Devin Dummel

Recently, I’ve been thinking about and talking about paths, not just the paths that you drive on your go for a walk on, but the paths of our choices.   When you think about it, every choice is a path.  Each choice you make sends you in a direction that ultimately has a destination. 

The challenge becomes trying to choose the right paths.  And in a world full of many voices directing us to many conflicting paths, it can be very difficult to know that you have chosen the path that will take you where you want to go.

As adults if we struggle to find the right paths and make the right choices, how much more difficult must it be for our children who are young and inexperienced.  They look to us to see how to navigate different situations and experiences.  They watch how we handle our emotions and how we react to the many difficult circumstances we experience.

So it’s critical that not only we discover how to choose the right paths, but that we also help our children end up in the places they want to be in life.  This can be very difficult to accomplish.  But it is not impossible.  All too often we forget that we have been given tools to help us end up on the right paths.

If you’ve ever been camping, or been on a hike then maybe you’ve found that compass can be a helpful tool when you aren’t sure if you’re headed in the right direction.

 A compass is an instrument used for navigation and orientation that magnetically points north.  It doesn’t need any batteries to work and it’s not something that is prone to “user error”, it simply always points north.

God has given us a tool that can help us navigate life successfully.  And when we use it we can be confident that we will avoid any unnecessary heartache and pain.  God desires for us to experience the best of life and that only happens when we accept Him as the ultimate authority in our lives.

Too often we view freedom and authority as opposing concepts. But the Bible teaches that true freedom is found under authority. This principle focuses on our need to recognize God’s ultimate authority and respect the other authorities He has placed over us.

Paul says in Romans 12:1-2

Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.

We believe that it is crucial to help your child discover God and His word as the ultimate authority in their lives.  It is vital to teach them that even in a world full of advice and suggestions on which path is the best to take, God’s way is always the best we. We need to help our kids understand that maximum freedom is found under God’s authority.

This truth is something that they will first learn through watching us practice it and live it out in our homes, in our schools, in our churches, and in our communities.  It’s time to quit worrying about what anyone else says and start focusing on what God says in every area of our lives.  When that happens, we will know we are on all the right paths.