June 9, 2016 • Life for Leaders
He who testifies to these things says, “Yes, I am coming soon.” Amen. Come, Lord Jesus.
Revelation 22:20
In yesterday’s Life for Leaders devotion, we began to consider the question: If Jesus is coming soon, how should we live now? I suggested two ways we should not live in light of Christ’s coming. First, we should not live in fear, as if Christ’s anger will obliterate his grace. Rather, we can live with the confidence that when Christ comes, God’s grace and justice will be fully victorious. Moreover, we should not live as if what we do in this world doesn’t matter because it will be burned to a crisp by God’s judgment. Rather, we can know that our lives matter to God and, in the mystery of God’s sovereignty, what we do now will continue to matter in the future.
Every time we call Jesus Lord, we underscore our own response to his lordship. By addressing Jesus as Lord, we implicitly offer all that we are to him.
Today, I want to mention something that can seem almost too obvious, but I think it deserves our attention. Jesus says, “I am coming soon.” We respond, “Come, Lord Jesus.” Not just “Come Jesus,” but “Come, Lord Jesus.” I mentioned in Monday’s devotion that this use of the word “lord” is striking because it suggests that the earliest Christians were not using it in the ordinary sense of “person who has authority.” Rather, by praying to Jesus as Lord, they were identifying him as God. So, the lordship of Jesus entails authority, like that of a human lord. But his authority exceeds anything merely human. The One who is coming soon, the One whom we ask to come, is the King of kings and Lord of lords.
When we pray, “Come, Lord Jesus,” we are confessing with Christians throughout the ages that Jesus is Lord and God, that he is sovereign over all things and all times. By implication, we are also acknowledging that Jesus is our Lord, the one before whom we worship, the one to whom we submit our whole lives. Every time we call Jesus Lord, we underscore our own response to his lordship. By addressing Jesus as Lord, we implicitly offer all that we are to him.
Thus, when we pray, Come Lord Jesus, we remind ourselves who is sovereign over our lives. We remember to live, not for our own glory, but for the glory of our Lord. We remember to devote ourselves, not to our own agendas, but to the agenda of our Lord.
QUESTIONS TO CONSIDER:
In what ways does the lordship of Jesus make a real difference in your life?
How might your work life be different if you consistently remembered that Jesus is your Lord?
What are the things that keep you from giving yourself fully to Jesus as Lord?
PRAYER:
Come, Lord Jesus!
As we call you Lord today, we acknowledge once again your lordship, your sovereignty over all things, including us. We offer ourselves to you, all that we do and all that we are. May you be glorified in us. May you work through us to accomplish your purpose.
We belong to you and bow before you, Lord. Amen.
Explore online Bible commentary: The Meaning of Revelation for Our Work at the Theology of Work Project.
Dr. Mark D. Roberts is a Senior Strategist for Fuller’s Max De Pree Center for Leadership, where he focuses on the spiritual development and thriving of leaders. He is the principal writer of the daily devotional, Life for Leaders, and the founder of the De Pree Center’s Flourishing in the Third Third of Life Initiative. Previously, Mark was the Executive Director of the De Pree Center, the lead pastor of a church in Southern California, and the Senior Director of Laity Lodge in Texas. He has written eight books, dozens of articles, and over 2,500 devotions that help people discover the difference God makes in their daily life and leadership. With a Ph.D. in New Testament from Harvard, Mark teaches at Fuller Seminary, most recently in his D.Min. cohort on “Faith, Work, Economics, and Vocation.” Mark is married to Linda, a marriage and family counselor, spiritual director, and executive coach. Their two grown children are educators on the high school and college level.
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