Master and Messiah

There are some concepts that our 21st century democratic minds struggle with. One is the idea of Lordship. All Christians believe in Jesus as Savior (messiah) and most would declare that they have accepted him as Lord of their life. But what does Lord mean? The word is Adoneinu meaning Master, owner, ruler, sovereign i.e. one that dictates your every move: one that controls you. Hmmm... Let's allow that sink in for a bit. Ok? . Early Jesus followers were so aware of this truth that they almost never referred to Jesus without acknowledging his lordship in their speech and actions especially after he resurrected. The concept however, is so foreign to our modern minds that we simply do not think about it in our relationship with our 'Lord' Jesus Christ... Though we say it, we hardly ponder on it's implications. Peter declared so powerfully at Pentecost: “Therefore let all Israel be assured of this: God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both LORD and Messiah.”(Acts 2:36 NIV) And Paul states this clearly as one of the aims of Christ' sacrifice: For this very reason, Christ died and returned to life so that he might be the Lord of both the dead and the living.Romans 14:9 NIV Lord means that you BELONG to him and as a result, are not expected to live for yourself: " 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 again." 2 Corinthians 5:15 NIV The life we received when we accepted Jesus' sacrifice was HIS life. This made us his - to put it bluntly - property. Honestly, this is great news! Why? Because unlike earthly rulers that rule to gratify their own selves, our master Jesus lives to ensure our victory. He says: “Come to me all of you who are tired from the heavy burden you have been forced to carry. I will give you rest. Accept my teaching. Learn from me. I am gentle and humble in spirit. And you will be able to get some rest. Yes, the teaching that I ask you to accept is easy. The load I give you to carry is light.” Matthew 11:28 -‬ 30 ERV How beautiful is that?! Submitting to Jesus as Lord makes life so less complicated and more fulfilling. Allowing him rule over life decisions and actions is life simplified. It is rest for the soul. Why do life the hard way? The Lordship of Jesus implies we live honoring his Word in our bodies by what we put into it, what comes out of it, where it goes and what we do with it;

and in our spirit by our thoughts, plans and purposes, for we have acknowledged that we are God's (1 Corinthians 6:20 KJV), We say, just as Paul lovingly declared: I am not the one living now—it is Christ living in me. I still live in my body, but I live by faith in the Son of God. He is the one who loved me and gave himself to save me. Galatians 2:20 ERV This truly is freedom.