Lord, Lord

"Why do you call me,'Lord,Lord,'and do not do what I say? I will show you what he is like who comes to me and hears my words and puts them into practice. He is like a man building a house, who dug deep down and laid the foundation on rock. When a flood came, the torrent struck that house but could not shake it, because it was well built. But the one who hears my words and does not put them into practice is like a man who built his house on the ground without a foundation. The moment the torrent struck that house, it collapsed and its destruction was complete."
Luke 6:46-49


I don't know about you, but when I read the first part of this passage, it causes me to cringe. I think of the times I pray and the times I read my Bible and the times I try to share the good news about Jesus; then I consider all of the times that I lose my temper, say too much, use bad language, judge others, criticize those around me, neglect those with real needs, so on and so forth. It reminds me that when I do those things that I am ignoring the word of God; that I am being contrary, rebellious, and stubborn, regardless of how I rationalize things. I know the word of God yet I am quick to allow it to go by the wayside in my heart; the difference between just hearing the words or understanding the words to be the truth.

And what Jesus is saying is that we should follow Him all of the way or none of the way. He is not talking about making a mistake or sinning in as much as He is talking about being a real disciple, a real follow who has made Him Lord of our life.

And that causes me to think about how it would be if I called my wife, wife; because we have a marriage certificate. Yet I would still keep a girlfriend or two. I may or may not come home to eat my supper. She would still be my wife, technically, but we would share no hopes or ideas. We would not build a future together nor support the other in our time of need. But we would have a piece of paper that says that we are married, so she would be by spouse, if not but technically.

And while I am not talking about fidelity, but rather about relationships, I am referring to infidelity in the fact that we are not faithful to God when we hear the words of Jesus, yet ignore their meaning and application. We cannot serve two masters, God and ourselves. He cannot be Lord of our lives if we try to be our own lords in our own lives. If we call to Him as Lord, then we must make Him Lord...

all the time...

Another explanation comes to my mind; If I say that Tom is my friend, even my best friend, yet we spend little time together, we wouldn't have much of a relationship. If I didn't trust Tom and make him look like less than he is, I wouldn't be much of a friend. If Tom offers me more than just words in our friendship, yet I continue to behave in the opposite manner, how can we co0nsider ourselves as friends?

We could make more analogies, but I am certain that you understand the point being made here. Whether it is our children, our family, our spouses, our friends, or our co-workers we need to tend to our relationships in order for the relationship to be genuine and real. More importantly, we need to tend to our relationship with Jesus; not just in words, but in our hearts and in our actions.

Jesus goes on to tell of how a relationship with Him leads to actions, such as building a house. He goes on to warn about those who fool themselves into thinking that they have a relationship and have a false sense of security. We will focus on that aspect of this passage in tomorrows blog. Today, I challenge you to focus first on your relationship with God. Are you hearing His words with your ears or with your heart? I also want to challenge you to make God Lord of all or nothing at all. Consider the cost of your discipleship first, then make a decision and stand firm on it. If you call yourself a Christian and claim to have a relationship with Him, then be certain to act like it all of the time, regardless of circumstance. If you cannot afford the cost of discipleship and decide not to make Jesus Lord of all, then never let the words, "Lord, Lord" exit your mouth; unless you become ready to make Him Lord of all that you are...the world will be better with one less hypocrite and at least everyone will know where you stand. If you want to do things a little God's way and a little your own way, then I must tell you that you have already decided that God cannot be Lord of all in your life. There is no need in pretending any longer, you have heard the words with your ears but they have not penetrated your heart. Your relationship with Jesus is a fraud.

Pray on these words and take time to listen. Then put what you hear into action...and my prayer is that your action will be to accept Christ and follow Him where he leads.