“Why do you call me ‘Lord, Lord,’ and do not do what I tell you?”
Luke 6:46
This verse always convicts me. Every time I read it I feel the weight of it as if Jesus were speaking to me directly. That’s the power of Scripture, that God is able to speak to us through these ancient words to meet us right where we are today, thousands of years later.
These words from Jesus don’t require a lot of explanation. Really, it calls for reflection more than anything. After all, Jesus isn’t commanding or reprimanding anyone in this verse, he’s asking a question. He’s giving us a prompt to reflect and truly answer that question, not for him, but for ourselves.
Why do we call him Lord, yet not do what he has told us to do?
Well for one, doing everything Jesus commanded of us is hard. In fact, it requires perfection. Perfection is nearly impossible, but not completely impossible. Jesus did tell us that all things are possible with God. So then what is it that holds us back from pursuing that perfect holiness that Jesus has called us to.
To be blunt, I think it boils down to two things. 1) We’re selfish. In the moment, it feels better to do what we want than what Jesus wants. 2) We have little faith. If we fully believed in Jesus – his life, his miracles, his teachings, his death, his resurrection – then we would live as he commanded, it’s as simple as that. There would be no question about it. As it is, we have our doubts, our moments of weakness. We have moments that we believe in ourselves or the world more than we believe in Jesus. If your life doesn’t reflect the commandments of Jesus, your faith may not be as strong as you thought. After all, he did tell us that faith the size of a tiny mustard seed could move a mountain.
Ask yourself today what is preventing you from having that kind of mountain moving faith. What is it that holds you back from trusting Christ and following his commands? Why do you call him Lord if you don’t want to follow him?
When we can answer these, we can move toward repentance and transform our lives to better follow Christ.
Prayer:
Father,
Thank you for these words from your scripture. I pray that you would not let us pass them by lightly, but to reflect on this question that Jesus asks us. Help us to find what holds us back and remove it from our lives.
In Jesus’ Name,
Amen.
Add Comment