Lord
Read Luke 6:37-49.
I guess there are just some things we need to learn on our own. Or we think we need to learn them on our own. I can't tell you how many times I have said to my kids, "If you had just done it the way I told you do, we wouldn't be in this mess." Or have a mess. Or whatever the result had been. "Why do you call me 'Dad' and do not do what I say?" But some things, I suppose, we think we need to learn on our own, so we ignore the wisdom of someone who has been there, done that.
In this latter part of Luke 6, Jesus is teaching his disciples, and he asks them a very good question. They call him "Lord" and then they do whatever they want. So they don't really mean what they say. "Lord," by its very definition, is a title of deference. It means that person whom you call "Lord" is in charge. In human terms, they may not actually know better, but they are still in charge, regardless of how you feel about it. But when you apply that title "Lord" to Jesus, you are acknowledging not only that he is in charge, but that he knows best. He is, after all, creator of the universe. He knows how it works.
To call Jesus "Lord" is to put him in the controlling position in your life. It's to give him the ruling throne in your actions, your words, your speech and everything else in your life. That's why he asks these disciples the question he does: "Why do you call me 'Lord, Lord' and do not do what I say?" (6:46). Why give me the title if you're not going to listen to me?
I think he might ask the question of a lot of us today still. I know there are many times he would certainly ask me this question! If he is only "Lord" in title only, then he's not really Lord. If we call him by that name but we let him have no real authority in our lives, then our words are empty. Calling Jesus "Lord" necessitates listening to him and obeying him. If he's not Lord of all, he's not Lord at all.
In this latter part of Luke 6, Jesus is teaching his disciples, and he asks them a very good question. They call him "Lord" and then they do whatever they want. So they don't really mean what they say. "Lord," by its very definition, is a title of deference. It means that person whom you call "Lord" is in charge. In human terms, they may not actually know better, but they are still in charge, regardless of how you feel about it. But when you apply that title "Lord" to Jesus, you are acknowledging not only that he is in charge, but that he knows best. He is, after all, creator of the universe. He knows how it works.
To call Jesus "Lord" is to put him in the controlling position in your life. It's to give him the ruling throne in your actions, your words, your speech and everything else in your life. That's why he asks these disciples the question he does: "Why do you call me 'Lord, Lord' and do not do what I say?" (6:46). Why give me the title if you're not going to listen to me?
I think he might ask the question of a lot of us today still. I know there are many times he would certainly ask me this question! If he is only "Lord" in title only, then he's not really Lord. If we call him by that name but we let him have no real authority in our lives, then our words are empty. Calling Jesus "Lord" necessitates listening to him and obeying him. If he's not Lord of all, he's not Lord at all.
Comments
Post a Comment