Christ, The Lord

by G. Jarvie, Glasgow | Category: General | Sept 1976

"He saith unto him, Follow Me. And he arose and followed Him."

(Matt. 9:9)

Many things might have hindered Matthew from, following the Lord, but the Lord was first in his life, and so he arose and followed. His friends at home may have been disappointed that he had given up his job. Or those who were over him, as a Government tax-collector, might have disapproved, but Jesus was Lord to Matthew and when He commanded, Matthew obeyed. He probably did not know where the Lord's command would lead him, but he had heard the call, "Follow Me", and he arose and followed. Matthew's future was the Lord's concern. Matthew was a disciple, and Jesus was the Messiah, the King of Israel. That much Matthew knew.

It costs something to be a disciple. It means acknowledging Jesus as Lord, and when we do that it changes our attitude to many other things. It means that we ourselves belong to Him because He has bought us at so great a cost. It means too that our money and our possessions are His, and this will guide us in our spending. In the matter of our giving to the Lord we shall find a new joy which we have not known before. Our time too will be His, and we shall find that, "Life is all too brief to spend in fruitless ease". We will not waste our time in the "cares and riches and pleasures of this life". We will take our cares to the Lord in prayer, and He will care for us. If the Lord grants us riches we will not set our hearts on them but rather count ourselves to be His stewards. As for the pleasures of this life, we will now find our pleasure in the Lord and in His service among His people.

When we sanctify Christ as Lord in our hearts then we find it as easy to

obey Him as Matthew did. Napoleon said, "I and Charlemagne founded kingdoms on force. Jesus Christ founded His on love. His will stand!" We obey the Lord because we love Him. Jesus said,

"If a man love Me, he will keep My word: and My Father will love him, and We will come unto him, and make Our abode with him" (John 14:23).

There is wonderful satisfaction and sweetness in obedience to Christ. Indeed there is no substitute in Christian life and service for loving obedience to Him. On a Pentecost day, about three thousand souls were saved as the apostles preached Christ. Not only were they saved, they were also baptized. And not only were they baptized, they were also added to the Church of God in Jerusalem. Indeed it was the Lord who added them (Acts 2:41-47). They were baptized because the Lord had commanded it (Matt. 28:16-20). The apostles were His servants, and those who had believed were His disciples. To be added to His disciples was to be added to the Lord (Acts 11:21,24). To them, there was one God, the Father, whom they worshipped; and one Lord, Jesus Christ, whom they obeyed. They found that His yoke was easy, and His burden was light. So it always is when we obey Him from the heart.

"We preach not ourselves", Paul wrote, "but Christ Jesus as Lord, and ourselves as your servants for Jesus' sake" (2 Cor. 4:5). We must not preach to please men nor in any way to elevate ourselves. Our message is Christ, as Redeemer and Lord.

Finally it is God's purpose to sum up all things in Christ. To Him every knee shall yet bow, and every tongue shall confess that He is Lord to the glory of God the Father (Phil. 2:10,11). The present lawlessness and godlessness will come to an end, and all men shall know that God has made His Son both Lord and Christ. It was this that Peter preached so powerfully on that day of Pentecost.

Let those of us who belong to Christ, sanctify Him as Lord in our hearts. And let us serve the Lord with gladness and come before His presence with singing (Psa. 100:2).

G. Jarvie, Glasgow | Sept 1976
General