People who absolutely control their children wind up with resentful, emotionally crippled adult children. A good parent learns to yield sovereignty to a child as the child's ability to govern it properly increases. This is dealt with in Galataians 4 and the result of it is seen in Romans 8. Paul talks about babes, immature, misunderstanding God's purposes and untrustworthy for the greater gifts. He also talks about mature sons, walking in the Spirit. What stewardship we have is an accountable responsibility by which God is teaching us to grow up into the Head, to be like Jesus- who is the image of God.
Deep down we all sense this responsibility to grow and we see it witnessed to over and over again in the scriptures, regardless of what our theories about how it is accomplished may be.
"As a result, we are no longer to be children, tossed here and there by waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, by craftiness in deceitful scheming; but speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in all aspects into Him who is the head, even Christ,
(Eph 4:14-15)
Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect. For through the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think more highly of himself than he ought to think; but to think so as to have sound judgment, as God has allotted to each a measure of faith.
(Rom 12:1-3)
You ask and do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, so that you may spend it on your pleasures. You adulteresses, do you not know that friendship with the world is hostility toward God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God. Or do you think that the Scripture speaks to no purpose: "He jealously desires the Spirit which He has made to dwell in us"? But He gives a greater grace. Therefore it says, "GOD IS OPPOSED TO THE PROUD, BUT GIVES GRACE TO THE HUMBLE." Submit therefore to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded. Be miserable and mourn and weep; let your laughter be turned into mourning and your joy to gloom. Humble yourselves in the presence of the Lord, and He will exalt you.
(Jas 4:3-10)
The Father earnestly desires sons and daughters into whose hands He can entrust the powers of the age to come. If Jesus learned obedience by the things He suffered, perhaps we learn also, to humble ourselves, to bring our will to God as an offering, so that as our interests align with His out of the maturing of our hearts, He in return grants us even more of freedom, along with the privileges of Sonship, which are those works which were finished from the foundation of the world. YIELD your body as a living sacrifice, DRAW NEAR to God, and He will draw near to you. SUBMIT to God.......
These verse tell only half the story, of course. The WHOLE STORY is like the two sides of a coin that must be spent in order to purchase the prized possession. For some that is knowledge, for some that is affection, for some that is the testimony that there works are counted pleasing by the Father.
Since God has chosen everyone He has foreknown to be conformed to the image of Jesus, we who are foreknown in such a way rejoice and press towards the mark of the prize of the Upward call of God in Christ Jesus.
