Teacher or Lord?

Influence is a powerful tool.  It can either be used to spurn one in a positive or negative direction and help form lifelong belief systems during impressionable stages in life.  We have all been influenced by someone while growing up which helped define the course we took as adults.  Perhaps it was a favorite teacher, a doctor or nurse, police officer or attorney, a pastor or missionary.

On the negative side influence can lead someone into a life of regret, bondage and hopelessness.

We have the opportunity every day to be an influence for good or bad in someone’s life.

I was thinking about this while reading Colossians 1:23; 2:6-8 and1Timothy 1:4 this morning.

But you must continue to believe this truth and stand firmly in it. Don’t drift away from the assurance you received when you heard the Good News. The Good News has been preached all over the world, and I, Paul, have been appointed as God’s servant to proclaim it.

 And now, just as you accepted Christ Jesus as your Lord, you must continue to follow him. Let your roots grow down into him, and let your lives be built on him. Then your faith will grow strong in the truth you were taught, and you will overflow with thankfulness.

Don’t let anyone capture you with empty philosophies and high-sounding nonsense that come from human thinking and from the spiritual powers of this world, rather than from Christ.

Don’t let them waste their time in endless discussion of myths and spiritual pedigrees. These things only lead to meaningless speculations, which don’t help people live a life of faith in God.

The Bible isn't just a historical keepsake but when paired with our belief in Jesus Christ it becomes the standard and source of how we live in the world around us.

I love teaching about the Teacher, but therein lays a hidden danger if a teacher is all I believe in.  To believe in Jesus as a teacher might bring change could even bring a positive influence in my life.  But until I believe Jesus was more than a cute baby in a manger or a teacher with a powerful life altering message transformation will not occur.

I believe this was the thought behind Paul’s admonition in the above with this key verse: 

“Just as you accepted Christ Jesus as your Lord, you must continue to follow him.”

You see it is easier teaching about the Teacher rather than submitting to him as Lord.

As follower of Jesus the teacher, however great a teacher I may think he is, I still have the choice to decide if I want to do or accomplish the tasks or follow the teachings he presents.  But to accept Jesus as Lord that means I surrender my whole being to him.  The Greek meaning of Lord literally means He becomes the possessor, owner, the one who has control of me.  This also means I give him respect and reverence such as when servants would greet their master in times past. 

Lordship is such a foreign concept to us today especially living in the United States.  No matter what you may think of government today, we have never been subjected to Kings, tyrannical reign or forced submission.  We have grown up with freedoms and choices others only dream about.  Freedom brings struggle in truly understanding and learning about submission to another especially to One we cannot see physically.  The disciples physically walked and lived with Jesus yet struggled with understanding him as Lord.

I recently read that Judas never addressed Jesus as Lord but only teacher.  It always amazed me that Judas witnessed the same miracles and teachings from Jesus the other disciples did but yet his outcome was so very different.

Jesus said, “You call Me Teacher and Lord; and you are right, for so I am.” (Jo 13:13)

The influence Jesus has in our lives as teacher is important.  But the influence he has in our lives as Lord is crucial to living life in peace even in the midst of trouble and heartache; crucial to understanding trust in the midst of questions; crucial to understanding who you and I are and crucial to living our lives before and with others.

Who is Jesus to you today?  A great teacher or Teacher and Lord?

Sack race

I loved the games we played when I was a kid, especially the sack race game.  Two people are put together; one leg from each person is put into a sack and then the bag is tied shut.  Object of the game is to work together to get to the finish line first.  To make it even more difficult two people of different sizes were often put together.  Bruises, grass stains from falling down, and sometimes even being drug along by your partner become the survival-mode of getting to the finish line!
   

Don’t know if the prophet Isaiah ever play the sack game, but he certainly describes the process in Isaiah 5:18.  What sorrow for those who drag their sins behind them with ropes made of lies, who drag wickedness behind them like a cart.

  

Amazing how some of these same games seem to weave their way into our lives as adults.  Only the game is no longer fun but instead becomes a destructive way of life. 

The ropes of deception can bind us so tightly that only when they are broken do we realize how much of a stronghold they actually were.  These ropes don’t appear overnight nor would we think we could be controlled by them.  They build with one compromise upon another usually starting with something small, something seemingly innocent.   

Ø  A “small white lie” becomes a foundation for others to build upon.

Ø  A clerk’s mistake on our bill could be seen as our “advantage”…do we say something or consider it a “blessing”? 

Ø  An innocent look that becomes easier to linger the next time (a pornographic website that pops on our computer screen or TV channel when searching).

Ø  An innocent touch that turns into a longing for someone other than our spouse. 

Ø  “If one pill helps with the pain, two will be even better”, prescription medicine turning into a habit.

Ø  A comment or action made toward us that we allow to fester in our hearts turning into hatred and/or gossip. 

Ropes of destruction become weights that hold us down and keep us back from living a life of freedom, hope and peace.  They become the binding force behind not extending mercy and grace (i.e. forgiveness) to others.  Freeing ourselves of these ropes become the avenue through which God can work in and through us to show the world who He is.   

The book of Isaiah is filled with the Israelites getting caught in these ropes of bondage and God’s responses.

Isaiah 30:1, 12-13, 15,18 (NLT) “What sorrow awaits my rebellious children,”
says the Lord…“Because you despise what I tell you and trust instead in oppression and lies, calamity will come upon you suddenly—like a bulging wall that bursts and falls. In an instant it will collapse and come crashing down…”

“Only in returning to me and resting in me will you be saved. In quietness and confidence is your strength…”

So the Lord must wait for you to come to him so he can show you his love and compassion.
For the Lord is a faithful God. Blessed are those who wait for his help. 

How then do we get out of this cycle?  We cannot do this on our own. 

     First: Admit, stop hiding and recognize what your rope of destruction is.  People who conceal their sins will not prosper, but if they confess and turn from them, they will receive mercy.  (Proverbs 28:13)

     Second:  Repent.  Simply put, do a complete 180◦ about face turn.  But don’t just turn, RUN from those ropes.  Ask for forgiveness from God and possibly those you have wronged.  So the Lord must wait for you to come to him so he can show you his love and compassion. (Isaiah 30:18)  God pursues us and longs to show us His love and compassion even when others won’t.

     Third:  Find a Christ follower who will hold you accountable.  Run from anything that stimulates youthful lusts. Instead, pursue righteous living, faithfulness, love, and peace. Enjoy the companionship of those who call on the Lord with pure hearts. (2 Timothy 2:22)

     Finally:  Wait on the Lord.  Let God’s Word (the Bible) be the foundation you build upon. All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right.  God uses it to prepare and equip his people to do every good work. (2 Timothy 3:16-17) 

Games don’t have to stop when we “grow-up.”  We just need to remember to keep the ropes where they belong.