East Flatbush Writer

I have made many commitments to follow Jesus Christ  over the course of my life,  but the first time was at the age of seven.  We were  sitting in Sunday morning church service and at the urging of my mother,  my cousin and I took the steps down from the small balcony,  through the center aisle until we found ourselves standing in the front of the auditorium at the altar.  In that moment,  I repeated the words of the pastor but wasn’t necessarily sure what transaction had taken place. We scurried back to our seats anticipating a pleased response from my mother as we had followed her instructions and gave our hearts to Jesus Christ. Although I had not experienced any immediate transformation, my cousin Caroline  reported that she had felt a hot and then cold sensation under her feet.  To this confession,  my mother declared that the devil was being chased away. 

Between the years of seven and 13, there were small but new desires to know more about this Jesus I had made a commitment to follow that hot Sunday morning in July. What also began were the searchings of a tender heart towards a God whom I was told loved me. 

At the age of 13, not only did I leave the Island of Jamaica to live with my mother in the United States,  but I made what I believe was my most determined  decision to follow Christ. This decision was as a result of a clear understanding of what it truly meant to be “saved” and finally anchoring this decision with baptism. The growth I experienced was explosive and exponential!

However, Jesus Christ was the savior of my sins but he was not Lord of my life.  The decision to hand over lordship was a greater struggle for many years.  It asked of me something much deeper than just trusting him to forgive my sins and reserve my spot in heaven.  Asking Jesus to be lord of my life was the complete surrender of all my plans,  desires,  direction and decisions. I wasnt always willing to hand those over to my savior. 

I wanted the safety of a savior but not the leading of the Lord.

My unwillingness to accept the lordship of Christ resulted in many poorly made decisions,  lots of disappointments and large chunks of my 20’s and 30’s  without purpose or direction.

I’ve witnessed this scenario more than ever in the church today. Christians are willing to give their hearts to Jesus but they are still intentionally deciding how they choose to live their life.  It’s almost as if they want God to co-sign onto their life’s decisions without checking in with Him about His choices for them.  Essentially,  they have their savior in their back pocket.

Proverbs 3:5-7 NLT says,  Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. Seek his will in all you do, and he will show you which path to take.  Don’t be impressed with your own wisdom. Instead, fear the Lord and turn away from evil.

These wise words are for those of us who already know the Lord.  We may not think that this verse is about lordship,  but it is, because lordship is accepting that He knows better.  Understanding lordship pushes us to run to Him about everything. It  helps us to easily surrender our plans, our desires,  our decisions our direction to him. 

So, where are you on the spectrum of serving Christ? Is he your savior AND lord? Has he saved you from your sins and is now directing every facet of your life? Does he have permission to suggest a different idea than the one you might be holding dear? Can he interrupt YOUR plans with his own? Consider that he is Lord in heaven and over the earth.  May he also be the Lord of your heart.