One of the most powerful statements I've heard about Christian living that has radically altered the way I live and think today is this: "If Jesus is not Lord of all, He is not Lord at all." At the offset, I know it can sound terribly legalistic and unrealistic. How can we expect to obey God in every area of our lives without ever committing mistakes?
We can have this wrong notion about Lordship that to follow Jesus and His laws means we won't fail at some point or another. As a result so many people give up on total submission just because they think they probably won't be any good at it. But God calls us to live fully submitting a hundred percent of ourselves to Jesus. In Luke 6:46, Jesus asks this powerful question: "Why do you call me, 'Lord, Lord,' and do not do what I say?"
But as we all know, we can never truly be perfect in this age. Sin will always be an issue and faith will always be a struggle. But to those who conclude and say "what's the point?" know that Lordship has very little to do with being perfect and everything to do with being humble.
God asks us to submit every area of our life to Him - even the broken and messy. You see, God doesn't want us to give just the clean and already figured out parts of our lives to Him. He's actually interested in the parts of your life you haven't figured out yet: your struggles, fears, worries and doubts.
When there are areas that are still falling apart - that relationship, sexuality, financial problem or addictions - God asks us to lay them down at His feet. He wants our burdens, not just our victories. He longs to take ownership of the good, the bad and the ugly. When we give up to God even the most broken areas of our being, He faithfully takes it and either restores it or gives us something better.
That doesn't mean we're going to be perfect overnight. Lordship is a continuous journey, not a one time deal. We need to walk deeper and deeper with God as He continues to expose things we must once again surrender to Him. Our hope is simply to strive to submit every area of our life to Jesus as they are continually exposed to His grace.
Colosssians 2:6 tells us, "So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live your lives in him." The more we walk with God, the deeper we go into full and complete devotion and submission to Him.
