The message of good news interrupts us in the middle of diapers, dirty dishes, homework, colds, sickness, cancer, work, bills, taxes, accidents, hockey games, phone calls, email, meetings, difficult employees, unethical managers and the myriad of other activities in our daily routine. This message of good news is that Christ is Lord, and wishes to be Lord of our lives in all that we do, and Lord of our lives wherever we go.
What does it mean for Christ to be Lord of our lives? For Christ to be Lord of our lives, we must surrender our lives to Him. We must obey him. This is one of the great paradoxes of the Christian faith. For only as we surrender our lives, surrender our desires for success, recognition, and wealth; surrender our self-centeredness, pride, dreams, hopes and fears and accept Christ as Lord of our lives do we find true peace and joy. This is the peace and joy the angels proclaimed.
Jesus invites you to cast your burdens – yes those burdens that you face daily – upon him. He invites you to come to him in prayer and tell him what is going on in your life. Jesus invites you to tell him about your sickness, your sorrows, your pains, your hopes and dreams. Jesus promises that he hears your prayers and will answer.
The humbug life is the life that Scrooge lived. The humbug life is a life that is lived alone, in self-reliance. The hallelujah life is a life lived in communion with your Lord and Savior in dependence on him. The pressures and temptations of life won’t go away. There still will be dirty dishes, phone calls, emails, meetings and difficult people. However the hallelujah life sees these in perspective of eternity, and knows the way we approach these ordinary activities is an expression of the Lord at work in our midst. So “whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.” (Col 3:17).
Some of you may thinking that this is easy to say, but you don’t know the way my children behave, you don’t know the financial strain I am under since I lost my job, you don’t know the health problems I have, you don’t know the pressure my boss puts on me to behave in a certain way, and what will happen to me if I don’t please him; you don’t realize I won’t be accepted if I don’t behave in a certain manner, and do certain things. You’re right. I don’t know the circumstances you face today, but I do know with absolute certainty that God sees and understands your circumstances. Therefore I invite you to hear again the message of the angels – “I bring you good new of great joy – today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; He is Christ the Lord”.
This baby whom the angels announced, Christ the Lord, did not remain a baby. He grew up to become a man, and he has been tempted in every way, just as you are yet he was without sin (Heb 4:15).
You are not alone in the midst of the temptations and pressures of your life. Jesus, our Lord, walked this earth and understands the temptations that you face. Since Jesus was able to live a life without sin, Jesus is able to help you resist the temptations in your life. And to that we shout Hallelujah! Yes we will still sin, say things we shouldn’t say, and do things we don’t want to do. But we know there is forgiveness and to that we shout Hallelujah! Yes we will stumble, and fall, but Christ walks beside us and he will pick us up when we fall, and to that we shout Hallelujah!
This Christmas will you continue to depend on yourself or will you hear and believe the good news? Will you allow Jesus to be Lord of your life, here and now? Will you take your eyes off of your circumstances and turn your eyes to your Lord? Will you let Jesus redeem your present situation and fill you with peace and joy here and now? But not just here and now, but will you also serve Jesus as you go about your routine throughout the week? Will you choose to live the Hallelujah life? Will you choose to live your life moment by moment in the realization that Christ is Lord of your life?
Let us do whatever we do, whether in word or deed, let us do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Christ our Lord (Col 3:17).
No comments:
Post a Comment