“See how I used him to display My power among the peoples. I made him a leader among the nations. You also will command nations you do not know, and peoples unknown to you will come running to obey, because I, the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel, have made you glorious.” (Isaiah 55:4-5 NLT)
Is it fair to say there are things for which we’re qualified and things we’re not? I can run a pretty good sweeper, swiffer floors, wash dishes and cars, but I’m a lousy auto mechanic, electrician, or plumber. I can speak to people about Jesus, even lead them to a prayer of confession, but I make a really bad Savior and Lord.
In the passage above Isaiah is essentially saying that God doesn’t have favorites. What He did for King David, He’ll do for anyone willing to submit to His authority and follow His directives. How much more can we seek His power and strength to live godly lives now that we have forgiveness and new life through Christ our King!
So, what is it that qualifies us for such a life of love and devotion? Do we work hard? Sacrifice? Say long, laborious prayers? Volunteer to serve many hours? Give large sums of money? Lead nations to Jesus? While any or all of those things are admirable and I’m sure the Lord would be quite pleased with us if we did them with the right attitude, none of those things can qualify us to be Lord of our own life.
The late Tim Keller reminds us: “You are under-qualified for the job of master and commander of your own life.” It’s ironic in many ways that as we surrender our lives to the Lord, we quickly conclude we can now rule our own life. What a joke! We couldn’t rule our life BEFORE coming to Christ, how can we possibly conclude we’re now qualified AFTER yielding our lives to HIS Lordship?
Having said that, our submission to the Lord’s authority in our lives now qualifies us for many other very useful tasks as His servant. And, ironically, He gives us authority to command demons and take control of other evil inspired activities, especially those in our own lives. Are we qualified to live above the power of sin in our life? Absolutely! Can we live a holy life to His honor and fame? Without question! Can we witness to His power and strength to save, heal, empower to serve, equip for sacred duty, call and preserve? There’s no doubt!
Where we must allow the Lord to draw the proverbial line is when we step over the boundary of our own life. Where the Lord qualifies and enables us to make great strides in our growth in Him, sometimes there’s a thin line between what He’s done and is doing in our lives and what He’s done and is doing in someone else’s life.
Because the Lord may have delivered me from alcohol, drugs, pornography, lust, pride, anger and a lot of other ungodly and sinful things, doesn’t qualify me to demand others to respond to God’s activity in their lives just like He did in mine. My dad was able to turn from cigarettes and alcohol without great effort with the Lord’s help, but my poor mom struggled for years to be rid of those vices.
We praise God for how He works in our lives, but just as some people can do double back flips with ease, that’s not happening for me. Similarly, some people, by God’s grace, can walk away from habitual sin with seeming ease, while others suffer and struggle for years. We’re never qualified to be anyone’s judge, only our Master Jesus is qualified for that. Let’s leave Lordship to Jesus. Let’s be content with being His slaves and love Him and each other well.
Food for thought.
Blessings, Ed 😊
Walking With Jesus 