You're Not the Boss of Me! Acts 15:22-35

Even young children recognize "real" authority.  With some instruction early on, they come to know who does and who doesn't have the right to tell them what to do.  Years ago when I was a student in grade school there was no doubt who was in charge when the Sister Superior would enter our classroom.  The entire class would rise and greet her, waiting for her to acknowledge the greeting and tell us to sit down.

I also remember when an older child in the neighborhood would try to tell me what to do, when he would bark orders I would tell him, "You're not the boss of me!"  Again, I knew he was not a force to be reckoned with like the nun was.  I knew this because at one time I obeyed his orders and got in trouble.  My parents taught me about authority, and who I needed to listen to and who I needed to just ignore.

The Scripture today tells us about a time in the early church when followers of Jesus needed a lesson in who was in charge and who wasn't.  After all, they were still children in the faith, they had lots to learn as I did so many years ago.  Just because someone speaks like they know everything, doesn't mean they do.  In the scripture today we learn about authority.

"We have heard that some went out from us without our authorization and disturbed you, troubling your minds by what they said. So we all agreed to choose some men and send them to you with our dear friends Barnabas and Paul— men who have risked their lives for the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore we are sending Judas and Silas to confirm by word of mouth what we are writing." (Acts 15:24-27) 

Read the entire text for today here.