Lord of Your Life – EGP Blog post from January 21, 2006

Luke 6:46–49 ()

[46] “Why do you call Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ and do not do what I say? [47] “Everyone who comes to Me and hears My words and acts§ on them, I will show you whom he is like: [48] he is like a man building a house, who dug§ deep and laid a foundation on the rock; and when a flood occurred, the torrent§ burst against that house and could not shake it, because it had been well built. [49] “But the one who has heard and has not acted accordingly, is like a man who built a house on the ground without any foundation; and the torrent§ burst against it and immediately it collapsed, and the ruin of that house was great.”

Luke 6:47 Lit does
Luke 6:48a Lit dug and went deep
Luke 6:48b Lit river
Luke 6:49 Lit river

What is Lord?

The word “lord” means “one possessing great power; to exercise authority over, restrain, regulate, and direct.” Therefore, whatever rules over (i.e., controls) is lord. Money (), career, possessions (), loved ones (; ), time, fitness (), and religion () are just a few examples of what can be lord of one’s life.

In , Jesus asks how can someone call Him Lord, if that person does not do what He says. It is our responsibility as Christians to let Jesus be Lord of everything in our lives. states, “Whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through Him to God the Father.” Thus, you should make a conscious effort to make all your words and actions Christ-centered.

It is true that we are not Jesus, we are just His representatives. The question is NOT “What would Jesus do?” But rather, what are we going to do in His NAME, i.e., His PLACE?

A Call to Action

The significance here is that hearing Christ’s commands is not enough, but doing them is what counts. The word translated as “do” in and , and as “acts” in comes from the Greek word “poieo,” which means “to make or build; to do, bring forth, or produce.” This is why His parable of building a house is a perfect example of His message here.

We must “dig deep,” past the sand () in order to get a good foundation. This sand is likened unto the thorns in the parable of the sower in that it represents cares, riches, and pleasures of this life. (). It symbolizes the iniquity that separates us from close communion with God; each grain represents the things in our life that we do not turn over to Christ’s Lordship. The world we live in is full of self-reliance, self-dependence, and self-control. We become enthralled with “I can do all things” and leave off the “through Christ.” () The foundational Rock spoken of here is Christ (; ).

Key verses