Using Jesus

Jesus is to be worshiped, honored, and followed. He is not to be used.

Every election cycle Jesus gets pulled out of the mothballs and brought forward as a political prop. Politicians, many of whom rarely darken the doors of church buildings, now spout a verse or two of Scripture (often out of context) and may even offer up a prayer every now and then. But politicians are the only ones who use Jesus to their own ends.

One of the earliest known confessions of faith was “Jesus is Lord.” Modern day believers use that phrase, too. We declare that Jesus is both Savior and Lord of our lives. By “Savior” we mean that He died for our sins on the cross and was resurrected giving us the hope of a new and eternal life in Him.

By “Lord” we mean that Jesus is the boss. We relinquish control of our lives to Him. He’s not our co-pilot; we give Him the driver’s seat! He sits on throne of our lives guiding our decisions and lighting our way.

We may not struggle with the concept of Jesus as Savior – He’s our “get out of hell free” card – but we do struggle with the idea of Jesus being in control of our lives. We kind of like the feeling of being in control ourselves, so often we will declare that “Jesus is Lord” but live as if, in truth, we are.

When we choose to claim the mantle of lord of our own lives, we will soon find ourselves in hot water, quick sand, or some other metaphorical but very real dilemma. It is then that we turn our faces heavenward and ask Jesus to bail us out, yet again. And often He does just that.
Truth be told, often Jesus becomes Lord only when it’s convenient for us. That is using Jesus!

But what if we quit using Jesus? What if we chose to declare Him Lord from the moment we woke up to the moment we dozed off? What if He were truly Lord of our time, our words, our thoughts, our finances, our diets, our everything? How would our lives change? How might the world be changed?
D. L. Moody said, “The world has yet to see what God can do with and for and through and in and by the man who is fully and wholly consecrated to Him. I will try my utmost to be that man.” I pray they find out and soon.