Lord, Lord

Passage: Matthew 7:15-23

In a memorable sequence of the final season of Six Feet Under, character David Fisher picks up a charming young hitchhiker. It doesn’t take long for David to learn why “Don’t pick up the hitchhiker” is such a tried-and-true TV trope. The young man pulls a gun; gets David to drive him all over town; robs him and leaves him alone and terrorized in an alley. David spends weeks dealing with post-traumatic stress. Then, miraculously, his abductor is arrested for another crime. David has the opportunity to confront him. David sits across the table from his shackled tormentor. And the young man says, “David, I’m so glad you came to visit me. Did you miss me?”

“Miss you?”

“Well, yeah. Aren’t we friends? Don’t you remember what a good time we had?”

“Good time? You threatened to kill me!”

“Oh, I was just having fun.”

“I’m leaving.”

“Well, didn’t you at least bring me something?”

The young hitchhiker is so pathologically self-centered that he has no understanding or regard for his victim’s feelings. And no real recognition of the real person sitting across from him.

In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus says that at the end of time people will come to him claiming to have a relationship with him. When in reality no such relationship existed. They’ll say, “Lord – my lord; my buddy – didn’t we have good times together? Look – I performed miracles in your name. I cast out demons!” Jesus will say, “Get away from me - I never knew you!”

So what does it mean to know Jesus? Isn’t claiming him as Savior enough? Isn’t declaring him your official religion enough? Isn’t it enough to go to church and say your prayers and read the Bible? Apparently not.

To know Jesus is to embrace him for all he is. Jesus is not just the embodiment of God’s love. Jesus is not just the means of God’s saving grace. Jesus is also the human expression of the full extent of God’s power and majesty. To know Jesus is to come face to face with almighty God. The place from which to start responding to Jesus is on your knees.

To have a relationship with Jesus is to place him at the center of your life. To set aside every other value and priority in favor of him. To set aside even your self. You can do important and even sensational things in the name of Christ or for the cause of Christianity. All while serving yourself – your need for recognition and praise; your need for significance and status. If you are at the center of your life, you can’t possibly know Jesus. Because to know him is make him your everything.

According to Jesus, the true test of whether you know him is obedience. To submit every part of your life to his scrutiny and his will. Jesus says,

Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.

But when we offer Jesus our lives, he gives us his. A life of abundance and adventure and true peace now. And a life that cannot be taken away, even by death. Call Jesus Lord. And let him be Lord – Lord of your world, and Lord of your life.