“And he answering said, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind; and thy neighbour as thyself.” (Luke 10:27)
In what place do you set the Lord in your life, is He the Most High, the Almighty, or do you call Him Father? Do you call the Lord Jesus just that, Lord, or do you consider Him your friend, even your brother? I believe that far too many who claim to be born-again believers have far too casual of a relationship with the Lord. They consider Him a close personal friend when they actually know very little about Him, they call the Lord God Father, but they obey only when it is convenient, when the world and self are not calling, only at predetermined times.
Our Lord is a jealous God (Exo. 34:14) and a consuming fire (Heb. 12:29) He is not to be taken lightly, and the Scriptures are full of people who have been reminded of that fact. A friend is someone that we trust completely, and they trust us without question, can the Lord trust you completely? A Father is obeyed when His interests are only for our good, for our welfare and growth. Are you obeying in love, are you attempting to grow in the grace and knowledge of the Lord, are you submitting to the will of the Holy Spirit?
The title Almighty means just that, no one is greater than God, do you bow the knee to His will, are you always available to be used for His glory no matter the circumstances or the possible consequences to yourself. Which title do you personally set upon yourself as an heir to the Kingdom of heaven, servant, slave or child? “But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name.” (John 1:12)
How we look at our relationship with the Creator and Sustainer of all that is determines not only how we will act and react to Him, but how we envision that He sees us. The real question is, do you believe that He looks upon you as you believe that He does? A slave obeys, without questioning, in this sinful age of man the word slave has taken on an evil connotation, our adversary has made quite sure of that. The word immediately brings to mind “against someone’s will” and severe punishments and beatings for disobedience. Of course, this is the path that Satan would choose to lead the lost world in, “For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain,” (Phil. 1:21)
We are willing slaves because of our love for the Lord. Inconceivable to the lost, for slavery to them is the loss of all personal freedoms, forced bondage. The word servant has been offered to the brute beast with the same negative connotations and is shown today to be an individual who is less than in all ways the one they serve, a demeaning position that sets the one being served on a pedestal of pride and vanity, and so it was expected to attempt to defeat or at least belittle that word servant in the enabled society where all are supposedly equal.
Subtle deception and the manipulation of words are Satan’s greatest traits, and he excels in this area. I personally do not call the Most High God my friend, nor will I call Jesus Christ my brother until I am told by Him that I can, to me it seems irreverent to do so. When the King says I can do this, then I will do so, not before, I will not presuppose on His thoughts towards me.
Who you say Jesus Christ is to you is how you will act and react towards Him; these words are truth. “The LORD hath appeared of old unto me, saying, Yea, I have loved thee with an everlasting love: therefore with lovingkindness have I drawn thee.” (Jer. 31:3) This verse can start you on the contemplation of the poorly written words in this letter to you, on whether or not the Lord God sees you as you envision Him to. “I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.” (Gal. 2:20)
