My Saviour, but not My Lord?

Daily Devotional – Friday, June 23, 2023
But why do you call Me ‘Lord, Lord,’ and not do the things which I say?
Luke 6:46 (NKJV)

The community living downstream was mourning. Flash floods had swept away a mother and her two children the previous night. They had built their ramshackle a dry riverbed and had no idea that it had rained upstream. That morning, law enforcers demolished the remaining damaged abodes that were hanging dangerously on the edge of the river.

Without a stable foundation, the houses built on sand stood no chance in case of floods. Conversely, while some residential areas near the river were also flooded, the houses remained intact because they were constructed on solid foundations. Incidentally, about two thousand years ago, Jesus gave parable that captured the two scenarios.

A Hearer but not a Doer

He said, “Whoever comes to Me, and hears My sayings and does them, I will show you whom he is like: He is like a man building a house, who dug deep and laid the foundation on the rock. And when the flood arose, the stream beat vehemently against that house, and could not shake it, for it was founded on the rock.” (Luke 6:47-48).

In contrast, “But he who heard and did nothing is like a man who built a house on the earth without a foundation, against which the stream beat vehemently; and immediately it fell. And the ruin of that house was great.” (Verse 49).

Why Do You Call Me Lord?

In introducing this parable, the Lord had asked a question, in which we find the gist of the narrative, “But why do you call Me ‘Lord, Lord,’ and not do the things which I say?” (Luke 6:46). In essence, Jesus is against the practice of being mere hearers of His word. He wants Christians to be practitioners of the faith.

Two millennia later, the situation persists. Modern Christians want to be baptized but not to obey God. They want to be called Christians yet live without Christ. Go to church they will but living by the teachings of Jesus they will not. Christ is not their first priority but for reputation’s sake, they will profess Him.

My Saviour, but not My Lord?

We live in a world where so-called Christians are comfortable living like earthlings as long as they flock churches on weekends to ‘placate’ God with tithes and offerings. Every believer wants to go to heaven but few are willing to model the character of heaven while on earth. Jesus is their Saviour but not their Lord, to Whom they owe allegiance and obedience.

Is your foundation on a rock or fleeting sand? Are you comfortable confessing He is your Saviour but unwilling to submit to Him as your Lord? Do you call Him ‘Lord’ but refuse to live as He commands you to? Are you a Christian in word and deed? Really, who is Jesus to you?

Prayer
Lord Jesus, today, I renew my allegiance to You as my Saviour and Lord, Whom I will obey unreservedly.

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