Looking ahead into the New Year, some people may have cause for uncertainty and foreboding. There may be fear about what the future holds. Believers, however, need not exercise fear. It is sufficient to put all trust and confidence in Jesus Christ, Who alone knows the future, and has the power and authority over all things. He is the only One that can save us from sins. Some think Christ belongs only to the Jews or that Christianity is the religion of a particular race. They do not know that the message of the Cross is to all people. Christ offers three things in His office as Saviour and Lord.
First, He pardons our sins. He has the right to wipe away all our sins. God the Father gave Him the power and authority to forgive all sins. An angel, a man or the founder of a religion cannot do it. God has exalted Him to be the only one who can forgive sins.
Second, He has purchased us. He buys us completely from the world to make us His property. He takes care of His purchased property. If we are sick He heals us, and if there is any attack or affliction He delivers us. We are God’s special property. We must, therefore, remain faithful to Him. As preachers and leaders of God’s people, we are to take care of the flock. We cannot afford to deal with them anyhow because He paid a great price for them.
Third, He possesses us. We do not belong to ourselves anymore, just as a married woman does not belong to herself again. Some say their Christianity is in the heart and that they can do anything they like, go where they want to go and work anywhere they want to work. But the Lord wants us to glorify Him in our body, spirit and soul. Whatever we wear must glorify the Lord. He wants our personality to radiate His glory, our minds to think His thoughts, our eyes to see as He sees, our hands to serve Him, our feet to run errands for Him and our mouth to speak His Word.
What is the implication of all this? It means He owns us, and we must love Him with all our hearts. The earlier we recognise the ownership of the Lord over our lives the better for us. We will live a life of mediocrity, if we do not recognise that Christ owns us. In all things, we must ask to know the Lord’s will. Paul handed over his life to the Lord the very first day Christ met him. He realised he must submit and surrender all to Him. He was formerly in the habit of consulting self, but now things had changed. He used to be a proud person because of his credentials. He was full of himself, conscious of his attainments in life. He bragged about everything. But when he surrendered his life to Christ, the Lord directed him to one of the brethren to test his humility.
Christ expects us to humble ourselves in all things and unto all men. We must respect, love one another, no matter our title, status or position. Christ frowns at us, when we call Him Lord and fail to do His will. We should show that we truly accept the Lordship of Christ. As a living sacrifice to the Lord, we should be totally given unto Him. The evidence of Christian virtue in our lives is complete yieldedness to Christ our King, absolute surrender to the Lordship of Christ, unquestioning submission to His sovereignty.
Further Reading: King James Version): Romans 14:9; Philippians 2:11; Acts 2:36; John 17:2,3; Matthew 21:1-3; Romans 14:8,9; 2 Corinthians 5:14,15; Philippians 2:5-11; Luke 2:10,11; Acts 5:30,31; Mark 2:5,9-11; 1 Corinthians 6:20; 2 Peter 2:1; Acts 20:28; 1 Corinthians 6:19,20; John 17:6,10; 1 Kings 20:4; Acts 9:6,17; John 13:13-17; Luke 6:46; 9:57-62; Luke 12:47,48; Romans 12:1,2.
