Submission and Lordship............What?
*Originally written March 13, 2007. Updated from myspace archives.
I am a Christian!!! So many people say this phrase, but what does it mean? Is it solely "confess[ing] with your mouth, 'Jesus is Lord,' and believe[ing] in your heart that God raised him from the dead" (Romans 10:9). Or is there more? Of course, there is more. To me, the key in a Romans 10 confession is "Jesus is Lord." In our culture, many Christians toss this phrase around (including myself, at times) with little reverence. When you, when I say, "Jesus is Lord," what does that mean? What does that statement say about our lives? I can tell you, it should not mean you are walking around saying you are a Christian, but leading a lifestyle that is in complete submission to worldly ideas and values. (I say complete, because if we're honest, each one of us has or is struggling with some form of submission to the worlds idea of living, that does not line up with God's idea--but that's another post.) Jesus IS Lord, but are we, am I submitting to His Lordship? One of the secular definitions of lord is "a person who has authority, control, or power over others; a master, chief, or ruler." Wow, AUTHORITY, CONTROL, POWER. A MASTER, CHIEF, and RULER. All words humans seem to despise. These words can make us feel resricted, subdued, controlled, weak, rebellious, and dependant. Have you thought about it? Why do we despise authority? Why do we despise being controlled? Why do we want to be our own master? Why do we want to be the ruler of our lives? Why do we fear allowing someone else to take on this role? I believe our human minds compare Jesus to other human authorities we have be subject to throughout our lives. Those authorities have never measured up. They have often left us with feelings of rejection, imperfection, frustration, anger, fear, etc. However, those authorites are merely human, they can't measure up. They are imperfect beings, as we are imperfect beings, and they will NEVER, EVER, EVER measure up. Ahhh, but Jesus!! Fully man, yet fully God!!! He is the perfect AUTHORITY. The just RULER. The One who controls, yet is full of grace. All-POWERFUL. The loving MASTER. The Chief of CHIEFS. Why do I believe this to be true? One, I read the gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke and John) where the love of Jesus is so real, so compassionate, so overwhelming, so incredible, yet so just!!! He loved sinners!! He was perfect, yet empty of arrogance. He experienced anger, yet was 100% loving. He did all of the things religious people, of His time, would not do, because they feared disobeying the law. But Jesus taught the law empty of legalism. He taught us that the law was spoken, written so people would recognize their sin and long for a Savior (Romans 7:7-13). He fulfilled the Law, because He was Lord of it (Matthew 5:17-19). He created it, so we would accept His free gift of salvation. The gift that would lead us to submit to Him as Lord of our lives. If we truly understood His gift, His sacrifice, His love for us, His perfection, we could do nothing but submit to His Lordship. We would realize our life would be more full, not easier, but more abundant with Him in control, with Him as Master!!! Two, I have experienced this Jesus. I have experienced His love, His grace, His compassion, His anger, His consequences, His mercy, His salvation. I have experienced deliverance from a pain so heavy that some days I found it hard to breathe. I have experienced a season of doubt that led me to questions I was afraid to ask, but Jesus, He was there. He answered. I have and continue to experience struggles with my flesh that often leave me feeling frustrated and hopeless, but Jesus, He is there. He is my hope. I have prayed, only to hear the silence of God, but eventually the silence was broken, an answer unveiled. It is not just about declaring "Jesus is Lord," but with the help of the Holy Spirit (John 14:16-18), live it out daily. When I stumble and fall and when I run victoriously, Jesus I want to submit to your Lordship. I want you to be my AUTHORITY, my RULER, my CHEIF, my MASTER, because on my own, I fail. I love you and am forever grateful for the amazing love you have lavished on me. |
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1 comment:
Wow, this really is great! I'm working a lesson now - Matthew's use of the word "Christ" in reference to Jesus. "Lord" is another one I will work on (I'm teaching through Matthew on Wed nights at church). It is one thing to recognize Jesus as Lord, quite another to submit to him as Lord of our lives. Good post.
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