What can you tell me about Jesus' social status? Was he rich or poor? Was he at the top of the social ladder or closer to the bottom? Was he used to calling the shots or being told what to do?
Jesus was dirt poor - likely happy to eat something just once a day. He was lower than a peasant, which meant that he didn't have authority over anyone, really. He was very aware of his position - he was no doubt reminded of it daily.
So when he grew into his ministry, he knew a thing or two about the mindset of the 99.7% who shared the planet with him. Except for the .3% who ruled or were government or military officials or were business owners or were priests, the rest struggled every day. But they were very accustomed to a world where they had people above them telling them what to do. That was life. There was no getting around it.
The American Dream hadn't been dreamt yet, where a person could - at least in theory - rise above their position and be whoever they wanted to be. That was centuries away.
This is important, because when Jesus called people to make God their Lord, people understood it better than we do. Lordship meant someone else was calling the shots - not themselves. For Jesus' contemporaries, calling God "Lord" was a trade up from only following the lordship of the man who owned the land they worked. God was a higher authority, and a better leader.
In Luke 6, Jesus ends his incredibly rich and deep teaching with a story: “So why do you keep calling me ‘Lord, Lord!’ when you don’t do what I say? I will show you what it’s like when someone comes to me, listens to my teaching, and then follows it. It is like a person building a house who digs deep and lays the foundation on solid rock. When the floodwaters rise and break against that house, it stands firm because it is well built. But anyone who hears and doesn’t obey is like a person who builds a house without a foundation. When the floods sweep down against that house, it will collapse into a heap of ruins.”
Both people built a house. Both people chose a foundation (rock v. sand). Both people experienced the storm. One person came out the other side with their house still standing - the other was let with a terrible mess. What was the difference?
Jesus was noting the difference between people who simply listen and those who listen and actually do what they were told to do. The listen-only person enjoyed some interesting reflection on Jesus' teaching while his house was swept away. The other guy experienced the true power of what Jesus taught - because he did it!
In the United States, we don't have identifiable "lords" anymore. Nobody "owns" anybody anymore (at least not legally). So when we are asked to consider embracing the lordship of God, we're not sure what to make of it, because we think we don't have a clue what that means.
The reality, however, is that we are very familiar with lordship. In the US, everybody is their own lord. We call the shots for our life. This is so deeply ingrained in us that the idea of someone else telling us what to do seems automatically wrong and unnatural. We struggle with lordship, because we want to remain the lord of our own lives.
We are not alone. Even in Jesus' day, lordship was tough. Check out these references about common areas people struggle with lordship:
· Future: “Get behind me, Satan!” (Mk. 8:33)
· Personal finance: “He went away sad, for he had many possessions.” (Mt. 19:22)
· Judging: “Take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take out the speck that is in your brother’s eye.” (Luke 6:42)
· Enemies: “Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you.” (Luke 6:27)
· Sexuality: “Go and sin no more.” (John 8:11)
· Time: “He went up into the hills by himself to pray.” (Matthew 14:23)
Jesus didn't really speak to draw a crowd. Now and then his message was so challenging that most people walked away. One pastor in the US said it plainly: "I don't say anything people don't want to hear." His is the largest congregation in the States.
The problem is this: not taking the lordship of Christ seriously is a devastating choice, guaranteeing lots of clean up when the storms hit. We think we can fudge on this, but it really doesn't work that way. While we are all works in progress, there is a big difference between a person who has decided to follow Christ fully compared to the one who has not. Their lives are often very different. One looks a lot more like Jesus, and creates a similar impact. The other is probably a nice person, and likely blends in really well culturally. Some incremental good may come from the lord-less, but not compared to the exponential impact that can happen through someone fully committed to Christ.
The Way of Christ is not normal. It is counter-cultural. It seeks redemption and grace while the culture supports judgment and retaliation. One changes the world for the better on purpose, at the cost of themselves. The other makes the world better primarily for themselves, yet is just as expensive – it’s just simply wasted on small vision.
Before people were identified as Christians, they were simply called the people of the Way. They were different. They really did follow the beat of a different Drummer. Everybody around them could see the difference.
Who do you follow, really? How does it show?
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