Jesus is Lord

The power of God

Jesus is Lord, he is king, he is God. Throughout his ministry, Jesus showed that he is more powerful than the devil. He casts out demons. The evil spirits are afraid of him: «what do you want with us? We know who you are». It is the name of Jesus that bishops and their delegates use to perform exorcism. «At the name of Jesus let every knee bow» (Ph 2:10). Jesus is more powerful than the sorcerer, the witches, the envious, the ghosts, the fairies, the magicians and the evil spirits. So if Jesus is with us, if we are with Jesus, who can be against us? This is why the Christian must not be afraid of curses. Whoever is with Jesus is with the victor. Saint Thérèse of the Child Jesus says that the devil flees before a soul in a state of grace. If you are with the Lord Jesus, the forces of evil will be afraid and will flee far from you.

The Lord Jesus is also the Lord of the circumstances of our life. We may say: «But if you are the Lord, why this bad situation»? God will answer you: «I am Lord, but see how they treated my son». If God allows us to go through certain moments, to live certain situations, he knows why he does it. «All things work together for good for those who love God» (Rm 8:28). If we are honest, we will recognize that there are situations in our life that we believed to be bad, but afterwards we saw the good that came from them. Yet, faced again with new situations, we do not understand and do not trust. God calls us to trust. It is he who created us, he loves us. «Do not worry about anything, your Father knows what you need» (Mt 6:25-34). ‘Do not fear those who kill the body’. ‘Fear not, I have engraved you on the palm of my hand’ (Is 49:16). ‘Do not be afraid, did I not tell you that if you believe, you will see the glory of God’?

Is Jesus the Lord of my life?

If Jesus is the Lord of the universe, then everything must be subject to him: all of creation, all men and all women. Many say «Lord Jesus» with their lips, and it is true that we must say it. But to say ‘my Lord’ means that I listen to him and I obey him. Often, the actions we take are different from the words we speak. For many Christians, Jesus is not Lord. He is perhaps an advisor, a friend, a stranger. They may listen to him: when they have time, when he says things that please them, when everything is going well in their life. Otherwise they do what they want. In fact they do not believe that Jesus is Lord, whereas Saint Paul says that «if one believes that Jesus is Lord, one will be saved». If in my life I do not truly respect the lordship of Christ, am I then on the ground of salvation? If it is true that faith saves me, Saint James says that faith without works is dead. My faith must be accompanied by actions. What actions do I take that show that Jesus is Lord, that he is the king of my life? Do I listen to what he says and do it faithfully? Holy Scripture tells us that the Lord governs the life of the Apostle (1 Co 16:17), his commandments are to be obeyed (1 Co 4:19; 14:37; 2 Co 10:18). If we let ourselves be influenced by Jesus, if he were truly our Lord, we would crush the mountains of hatred and sin around us.

Letting ourselves be influenced by the word of God

When Jesus truly becomes my Lord, I become a specialist in putting the word of God into practice. I let myself be influenced by the word of God. That is what is essential! May Jesus be the Lord of our decisions and our choices through his word. It can take years, decades, for someone to let himself be totally influenced by his word. And the one who lets himself be influenced is then the one who lives like Mary: «may your will be done». If each of us could come to let Jesus be totally our Lord, to influence our life, then we would glorify him as he desires.

Henri Bayemi