Jesus is Lord

I have found myself thinking about this a lot recently. A lord has power and authority over other people. When we confess that Jesus Christ is Lord we are stating that Christ has power and authority over us – in effect, that we submit to his power and authority.

To state this and not to submit to his power and authority is a contradiction, and actually makes the confession, “Jesus is Lord”, meaningless. Declaring “Jesus is Lord” is not just uttering words but placing ourselves in the most effective place of kingdom action. As Greg Boyd puts it: “we enter the domain of God’s reign when we enthrone Christ as Lord of our life”.

The challenge for us is to cultivate lives of submission to Christ as Lord. This is especially important as we make space for more MSC activity, as we face challenges, make decisions and respond to uncertainty.We have a tendency to make ‘lordship’ decisions from the basis of our own power and authority – we try to rule our own domain. Actually, to authentically live as disciples is to use the declaration of “Jesus is Lord” as the entry point into the domain of the true Lord and to lay down our own measly attempt to be lord of our lives.

The Lordship of Jesus is effective. I think at present we need to recover some confidence in the Lordship of Jesus. When you find yourself feeling fearful, doubtful about whether it is possible to do the things you think God has called for, when you feel troubled try simply praying “Jesus is Lord”. It isn’t wishful thinking or a kind of positive thinking technique but rather a statement of fact: “Jesus IS Lord”…… it is his rule and reign, his dominion and domain that matters and is the place to be for a disciple of the Lord.

Let’s make this our statement of faith and lifestyle: Jesus is Lord!