Yesterday, I started a new book I received recently, Gospel-Centered Discipleship by Jonathan Dodson. It is a great book! I would highly recommend it. In the first chapter, Dodson defines discipleship from a gospel-centered perspective. After which, he moves to talk about Jesus being the Lord of our lives.

Jesus is supposed to be our Lord

Have you ever thought about that? Jesus is supposed to be our Lord? Yes, He sure is supposed to be our Lord. But what does that imply about how we are to live? Dodson helps us to think through the implications.

Think, for a moment, about the implications of Jesus’s divine lordship. If Jesus is Lord, then he doesn’t merely rescue sinners from judgment, but he also brings disciples under his divine authority. Translation: when we become Jesus’s disciples, we also become his servants. Disciples are servants who take up their cross and follow him (Luke 9:23). When we turn to Jesus, we turn everything over to him. When we confess Jesus as Lord, we embrace his authority over every aspect of our lives. This is precisely why Bonhoeffer can say: “When Jesus calls a man, he bids him to come and die.”

When Jesus is Lord, we give up on our old life (a sort of death) in order to live a new life. When we put our faith in Jesus as Lord, we surrender self-rule in order to come under God’s wise, gracious, and all-powerful rule. We submit to his reign and join his mission. This life-altering truth forms Jesus’s preface to the Gospel Commission: “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me” (Matt. 28:18). This new, expansive, awe-inspiring authority orders the life of a disciple to learn the gospel, relate in the gospel, and communicate the gospel in glad submission to King Jesus. As a result, we grow in the gospel as his servants, relate in the gospel as part of his family, and communicate the gospel as his ambassador-missionaries

Challenge

Now that Dodson has set us straight, let me ask a few question:

• Is Jesus your Lord?
• Do you submit to His authority over your life?
• Have you turned everything over to Him, even your life?
• Have you joined Jesus’ mission?

These are all questions we need to ask ourselves as we consider what it means for Jesus to be the Lord over our life. I pray that you will give them serious thought, knowing Jesus is not just our Savior who rescues us from the bondage of sin and Satan, giving us eternal life, but He is also our Lord. A Lord who calls us to serve Him and His mission here on this earth.

Resources

Jonathan Dodson, Gospel-Centered Discipleship, 42-43.

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