When in High School, I learned the term “Jesus is Lord.” It was a very popular recognition for Christians who were seeking to be serious about their faith. Yet, over the many years since then, I’ve come to understand that the very concept of “lordship” infers the importance of allowing Christ to have complete and full guidance of the daily decisions that we encounter. It is, in all reality, impossible to truly have Jesus as our “Part-time Lord.” We may live as if we saw this as an option for how we treat Christ but the fact is that we must make a solid choice about the role He has in our lives. To use the term “Lord” is a mutually exclusive term demanding full allegiance or nothing. We may “feel” it possible to be “sometime Christ-dependent followers” but that thinking only reflects our lack of “Christ-lordship.” When our decisions, goals, attitudes, and the way we relate to people are only dependent on how we feel or judge things to be of value to us, it is wrong of us to say that “Jesus is our Lord.” Indeed, the Lordship of Christ is a status for Christ in our lives that leaves us constantly asking ourselves if our lives are truly “Living Sacrifices” (Romans 12:1) or not. Until that time when the desires and plans of God overcome our wishes and hopes, we are living a defeated life. When we reach that point where our courage and conviction is married to our burden to be in the will of God for all things, we will find our lives meaningful and truly seeking His Lordship for all we do.
Let us not leave this as another theoretical philosophical concept. Is it important for Jesus to truly be our 24 hour a day “Lord” or not? Who cares? Personally, I do have an illness that brings me in and out of a healthy relationship with Christ. The “illness” is called pride and sin. I relate only too well to the Peter of Scripture who had good and bad days in his relationship with Christ. Am I dependable daily for God to say that I treat Him as my Lord? Not really. Yet, our Lord is forgiving of us and provides us opportunities to repent and begin our relationships again! None of us do much more than verbalize our desire for “Lordship” while we fall down and then stand up over and over in our faith. Yet, the integration of our faith with our daily decisions and actions is something we must desire. My prayer for you, and me, is that we never allow ourselves to become too comfortable with calling Jesus “Lord” even though we know He is not. May we all continue to seek His Lordship in our lives!
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在高中时，我学到「耶稣是主」这一宣言。这是认真追求信仰之基督徒的大众认知。但隔了数年后，我才认识到「主」的真正意义：就是允许基督做我们每日所有决定的完全与全部的主。我们不可能在所有事上，让祂做只是我们「部分时间的主」。我们或许把这看作生活的一个选择；但是事实上，我们要确实地决择祂在我们生活里所扮的角色。「主」这一词是相互唯一的，要求完全或完全不的忠诚。我们或许「觉得」我们可以是「有时依靠基督的跟随者」，但是那只是因为我们缺乏认知「基督是主」。当我们对人的决定、目标、态度和方法，只是依靠我们的感觉和判断它是否对我们有价值，说：「耶稣是我们的主」，那是错的。实在的，「基督是主」是基督在我们生命中的地位，我们需要经常问我们自己，我们的生命是不是真的是「活祭」（罗马书12:1）？若 上帝的愿望和计划不超越我们的盼望，我们的生命是失败的。当我们的勇气和信念达到 上帝的旨意是所有一切的时候，我们会找到我们的生命是有意义的，并在所有事上真心寻求祂的主权。
让我们不要把这当作另一个神学上的哲学观念。 耶稣确实做我们每天24小时的「主」，是不是重要呢？谁在意呢？我个人有一个病将我从与 基督的健康关系中带进、带出。这个「病」叫做骄傲和罪。我太像圣经里的彼得，他和 基督的关系也时好时坏。对 神，我是否每天都是可靠的？我尊敬对待 祂是我的主吗？一点也不，但是我们的 主原谅我们，给我们悔改机会，重新恢复我们的关系！当我们的信心一次又一次跌倒再站起来的时候，我们每个人都很想「做主」。但是我们每日的决定和行动，必须和我们的信心整合，这是我们必须期盼的。我祈求你们和我永远不允许我们随便称 耶稣是主，却不尊祂为主。愿我们继续在我们的生话里寻求祂是主。