LORDSHIP of JesusChrist

LORDSHIP of JesusChrist

Jesus answered , “If you want to be perfect, go sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven, then come follow me. “

When the young man heard this, he went away sad, because he had great wealth.

Matthew : 19:21-22

One day a certain religious, rich, young ruler approached Jesus inquiring about how to gain “eternal life.” The rich young man claims that he has obeyed the commandments like not committing adultery, not stealing, not giving false testimony, honoring father and mother, loving his neighbors. But despite of such profession of a religious and moral life, the young man has no assurance of salvation.

The rich young man is morally upright in the standard of his society. He may be considered a law-abiding and peaceful citizen. But still despite of this fact, he is not saved. There are many such men and women in the world. They are decent, law-abiding, morally upright people but are not saved. So it is not sufficient to be a law-abiding, morally upright , to be a religious person in order to be saved. There is much more needful thing in order to be saved.

Salvation requires the “Lordship of JesusChrist” in a person’s life. In order to surrender ourselves to the Lordship of Christ, we must be willing to rid off our lives from all forms of idolatries. There are many idols a certain person cherish in his/her heart. The rich young man in the passage above cherishes so much his great wealth. His wealth is the main hindrance in his life in order to submit to the Lordhsip of JesusChrist. So that’s why the Lord is asking him to sell his possessions.

Why his wealth is very precious to the young man ?

His wealth is very precious to him because it gives him a very comfortable and elegant lifestyle. He can eat whatever he wants to eat, he can wear whatever he wants to wear, he can live in an elegant mansion. The rich young man refuses to give up his wealth because he does not want to give up his very comfortable and elegant lifestyle. His wealth is also very precious to him because he finds his security in it. His great wealth makes him feel very secure. That ‘s why it is a form of idolatry. Though the rich man claims he has obeyed the commandments, he failed to obey the very first commandment which is “You shall have no other gods before me.” The rich young man has other god, other than the True and Living God, it is his great wealth.

There are many idols a person can cherish in his/her heart. These idols can be a major hindrance to the Lordship of JesusChrist in that person’s life. A high paying, prestigious career can be an idol in one’s life. For it can be a person’s source of security.. We should place our security in no other else , but only in the One True God.

One’s selfish ambitions can be an idol in one’s heart. If you cherish a selfish ambition in your heart , you will do everything to have it. You will give much time and effort in pursuing it. You might commit sins in attaining it. It may completely possess your heart and mind. This is indeed very detestable in the eyes of the Living God.

Obsession with a man or woman is another form of idolatry for it invades your heart and mind and soul completely. Your loved ones, your husband, your wife, your children can easily become your “idols in the heart” if you will not watch out.

Lordship of Christ is not merely about living morally upright lives, not merely about obeying the ten commandments. For a person may live a morally upright life but if he is cherishing a selfish ambition or an obsession, he is living in idolatry. Lordship of Christ is not merely about attending church services and ministries. For a person may be in a ministry but cherishing many “idols in the heart.”

It is about letting our hearts, mind and soul completely possessed by Christ. It is about dethroning of the SELF from the center of our lives and enthroning Christ as Master and King. And Christ is not Lord at all if He is not Lord of all areas of our lives. He must be Lord of our family life, lovelife, career, entertainment, leisure, ministry, service, music and all aspects of our life. We must not entertain any music that will be very offending to Him. We must not entertain any form of entertainment that will contradict His teachings and principles in living. His Lordship must take a hundred percent of our lives.

It is written in I Corinthians 5:15;

“And he died for all , that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised to life.”

When we accepted Christ as our Savior, it is Christ who already owns us. We should start living for Him. We should stop living for ourselves and we should cease from satisfying our sinful and selfish cravings. We should start living to fulfill the purposes of Christ for our lives.

Christianity is not meant for religious half-hearted followers but it is meant for those who will surrender their lives completely to the Lordship of Jesuschrist.