Psh... and we're worrying about Obama and McCain!

This week we conclude our talks about relationship. We have covered that God is our friend and He is our Father. The final thing we need to remember is that God is… well, God! This week we talk about Jesus as Lord.

So what does the word ‘Lord’ mean? According to dictionary.com, it means “one who has authority, control, or power over others; a master, chief, or ruler”. Straightforward enough, isn’t it? So the question really becomes, what is Jesus Lord of?

Let’s think it through. A lord is one who has control or power or something, right? Let’s look at a few examples. Jesus and His buddies got caught in a major storm one day while they were out boating. It says in Matthew 8:26, “But Jesus replied, "Why are you so afraid? You surely don't have much faith." Then he got up and ordered the wind and the waves to calm down. And everything was calm.” So, Jesus is Lord of the water. In Mark 5:12-13 it says, “’Send us into those pigs,’ the spirits begged. ‘Let us enter them.’ So Jesus gave them permission. The evil spirits came out of the man and entered the pigs, and the entire herd of 2,000 pigs plunged down the steep hillside into the lake and drowned in the water.” Jesus commanded the demons to leave the man… thus, He is Lord over demons. In Daniel chapter three, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego (crazy names, right?) refused to bow down to a statue of their king. The king got so mad, he prepared a furnace and had the three men thrown in. It was so hot, the soldiers who got close enough to get them in there were scorched to death! And yet, they came out untouched. It says in Daniel 3:27, “Then the high officers, officials, governors, and advisers crowded around them and saw that the fire had not touched them. Not a hair on their heads was singed, and their clothing was not scorched. They didn’t even smell of smoke!” So, God is Lord over fire, too. Jesus submitted Himself to be killed so that we could be reunited with God. BUT, He didn’t stay dead! Mark 16:6 “but the angel said, “Don’t be alarmed. You are looking for Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He isn’t here! He is risen from the dead! Look, this is where they laid his body.” He is Lord over death. How about the very first verse of the Bible? In Genesis 1:1 it says, “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” I think you are getting the picture… God is Lord over EVERYTHING. That’s why Jesus is Lord, not lord.

Now here is where we need to get specific. A lord (or, as it may be, Lord) is different from a dictator. Just because someone has the power and authority doesn’t necessarily mean it is exercised. A lord can be a dictator, but they are not necessarily the same. Case in point: let’s scale things down from cosmic to apartment sized. Say you are renting an apartment and have a landlord. Naturally you wouldn’t want that landlord in your business all the time! He probably has a key to your pad, but do you want him to waltz on in any time he pleases? What if he jacked your rent up to exorbitant rates? Screened your friends from the apartment complex? Turned off your power? I doubt you would stay in THAT apartment very long! God is NOT that kind of Lord. God allows us to exercise free will. He will never force us to do anything (that doesn’t mean there aren’t rules, people!), and He doesn’t want to use his power to harm you in any way.

Let’s take it the other way. Suppose you got so sick of that jerk of a landlord that you moved and got a new apartment. You talk to the new landlady and she seems pretty cool. She promises to stay out of your way, you can pay the rent when it’s convenient for you, there are no real rules apart from the basics in the contract, and she hopes you enjoy living there. Pretty nice, you think. Loads better than the last guy! Then let’s say your sink breaks. By your contract you don’t have the authority to fix it, so you call the landlady. No answer. You leave messages, but no dice… she ain’t calling you back. Since you have no payment schedule, you get behind on your rent… and your power gets shut off. There’s a leak in the bathroom, but you can’t get that fixed either. You suddenly find that you have cockroaches. A rowdy bunch moves in on one side of you and party till four in the morning, and on the other side you suspect there is a crack deal going down. Your landlady is so uninvolved that the things that you need help with aren’t getting taken care of! Result? Not a fun place to be living. Although God gives us free will, He doesn’t abandon us to make the best of our situations. We did a thing on prayer a while back… He does answer, remember? He’s there with advice and comfort and support when we need it, and He helps to solve the problems in our lives. He imposes rules on us, yes, but they are to keep us and those around us safe.

Remember when I said earlier that God was Lord of EVERYTHING? Well, there is one sorta-kinda exception… our lives. He has withheld His unlimited power and authority over us to a degree that we choose to make Him Lord of our lives, or to deny Him. If He wanted to, He could easily make us His slaves, His minions, etc. He could even make us happy, loving, prosperous, and perfect… except that we would have no free will. However, He chose not to do that. He wants us to love Him and respect Him as Lord of our own choosing, not because we are forced to…we would be little more than robots if that were the case!

So what does it mean to make Him Lord of our lives? Let’s look back at what the word ‘lord’ meant… authority, control, and ruler. Making God your Lord means giving Him your love and worship. It means listening to His word and striving to obey it, not because you have to, but because you want to serve Him. It means having a direct line of communication with the God of the Universe. What all these pretty much add up to is that God is first in your life, above all other things.

I will be the first to admit this is not an easy thing to do sometimes. Just the other night God showed me that I was putting my acting and my consequent glory as more important than Him and striving to glorify Him through it. For a long time my friends were the lords of my life, and food as well (thankfully God straightened me out!!). We can often get our priorities messed up. Money, power, love, friendship, talent, dreams… oh, dreams are a big one. But the fact is that in putting these things first, we are making idols out of them. I’m not saying that these things are bad… but these finite things cannot take the place of an infinite God.

God is Lord of All. He is the Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the lion and the lamb, the peanut butter to my jelly… oops, sorry, got carried away. It says in
Philippians 2:10-11 “so that at the name of Jesus EVERY KNEE WILL BOW, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” God is Lord of everything, and someday everyone will acknowledge that He is Lord. Angels, demons, the living, the dead, everyone will know that He is Lord. Of course, you could call Him ‘Lord’ today. After all, why put off till Judgement Day what you could do right now? Just saying… since we’re all going to be saying it anyway, we might as well embrace it now and enjoy the benefits of His love, leadership, guidance, and perfect relationship.

Well, that’s all for this segment! I hope it helped you to appreciate all the things God wants to be in our lives, and I pray that you are experiencing it for yourselves.

xoxoxoxoxo