Devotions

Not Just My Savior

When I walked up the aisle at eleven years old and said I take Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior I understood the Savior part.  I needed the Savior part even at that early age because I understood that I wasn’t very good on my own.  But I’m not sure at the time the Lord part of the commitment really got through to me.  Through the years I’ve realized that the Lord part is every bit as important as the Savior part because Jesus came to be both.  I saw a book a couple years ago called the 100 and it listed the one hundred most influential people in the history of the world.  The top three were listed as follows.   #1. Mohammed     #2. Sir Isaac Newton     #3. Jesus Christ   He put Mohammed first because of the sheer numbers of people who follow him and are willing to lay down their lives for what he taught.  Sir Isaac Newton was second because of his scientific discoveries that led to modern technology.  He put Jesus third but said in the chapter on Jesus he would have put him first but he couldn’t because of his followers – here was his explanation……

• “Now these ideas about loving your enemies and forgiving everyone around you which were not part of the Judaism of Jesus day, nor any other religion are surely among the most remarkable and original ethical ideas every presented. If they were widely followed I should have no hesitation placing Jesus first in my book.  But the truth is they are not widely followed.  In fact, they are not generally accepted.  Most Christians consider the injunction to love your enemy and forgive everyone at most an idea….which might be realized in some perfect world, but one which is not a reasonable guide to conduct in the actual world we live in.  We do not normally practice it, do not expect others to practice it, and do not teach our children to practice it.  Jesus most distinctive teaching, therefore, remains an intriguing but basically untried suggestion.”

Man, I hate that he’s right – but he’s right.  I want to be a Christan and part of a Church that takes what Jesus said and makes it more than an untried suggestion.  I want to experience the real change that comes from not only admiring what Jesus said but applying it.  Because He’s not just my Savior, He’s my Lord.