Authority For Life

Authority for Life

Read: Luke 10:17-20

“I have given you authority to trample on snakes and scorpions and to overcome all the power of the enemy; nothing will harm you.”

Luke 10:19

“No soldiers of Christ are ever lost, missing, or left dead on the battlefield.”

—J. C. Ryle

IN WORD The Christian life presents difficulties that we would never have encountered before our faith in Jesus. We struggle with sin as never before; we have entered into a warfare that harasses us with crippling or distracting circumstances daily, or even hourly; and we are called to a ministry that requires great persistence and endurance. It’s easy in the midst of this battle we call “life” to feel downtrodden, overwhelmed, burdened, and even trapped. We grow tired and may feel that there is no way out of our situation.

But there is a way through it. God has given us the privilege of worship, which elevates our perspective to see God as all-encompassing and our problems and battles as incredibly small. And, as this text indicates, He has given us authority. Snakes, scorpions, and the power of the enemy are under our rule in Christ, not rulers over us. The burdens of life, the threats of temptation, the urge to give up, the circumstances that harass us—all are found to be insubstantial when we realize our authority and the size of the God who gave it to us. Jesus is Lord over everything the enemy can throw at us.

IN DEED It is not God’s will for us to be bound by circumstances or to be crippled in battle. It is not His will that we live discouraged lives or just function day-to-day. It is His will for us to have abundant life—a consistent, joyful celebration of the triumph we now have and will fully realize in our eternal position in Christ.

How do we get there? A big hint is given in verse 20. While the enemy would have us focus on his scorpions and snakes, overwhelmed with his power, Jesus would have us looking elsewhere: on the eternal prize. Rejoicing that our names are written in heaven is the key to the burdens of life getting smaller and God getting bigger in our eyes. Our pictures are in the King’s family album. That’s authority.