By Cheryl Mah
As we begin, take some time to answer this question truthfully: Who is your master?
Have you – knowingly or unknowingly – allowed greed, pride, lust (i.e. sin), money, work or even family to be your master? Or will you choose God to be your master? If you think about it, your honest answer to this question is the one that ultimately directs and rules your life. Who or what are you allowing to rule your life?
Many of us find ourselves enslaved by a myriad of things – e.g. the need to accumulate more possessions, finding excuses to constantly stuff ourselves with good food, the desire for success and progression, being too busy with secular activities… the list continues. How do we extricate ourselves from the grasp of such toxic “masters”?
Matthew 6:33 holds the answer: “But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.”
1. Why choose God as our Master?
In 2 Peter 2:1 God is referred to as ‘the sovereign Lord’, reminding us that God is the ultimate source of all power, authority and He holds dominion over everything that exists. Yet, despite His sovereignty we learn from Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5-7) that God is also full of love, kindness, and mercy, and that He provides for us in all ways should we choose to seek Him.
Therefore, instead of constantly desiring and pursuing worldly things we ought to focus on seeking God’s will and His kingdom. We must allow and trust our heavenly Father to lovingly care for us, His children, and allow Him to be our Master.
2. Who does God expect us to be?
Being a Christian is far from enjoying a reconciled and restored relationship with God, reaping the benefits of salvation, and then sitting around for the rest of our lives waiting to enter heaven. By choosing God as the Master of our lives we must also choose to do His will, His righteousness, and to follow in His ways by rejecting sin and becoming obedient to His commands. God expects us to live as His holy children every day of our lives.
3. What does God want us to do?
It can be said that the whole of Scripture has one overarching theme – which is God’s mission to redeem the world (1 Timothy 2:4) starting with His plan to gather His lost sheep and reconcile them to a relationship with Him (Romans 5:1). That is why God sent His only Son Jesus Christ to die as a penalty for the cost of all our sins (John 3:16) – so that every single one of us may be redeemed and reconciled to God. Indeed, mission is wrapped up in God’s identity, and Jesus is the embodiment of that mission. That is the message we proclaim every Christmas.
As followers of Christ, God wants us to join Him in His work of reaching out to lost people and to introduce them to Jesus Christ as their personal Lord and Saviour (Romans 10:13-15). The work does not stop there – we must continue to invest in their lives, helping them to grow to be faithful disciples of Christ, teaching, equipping, and supporting them to join God’s mission too.
Perhaps the clearest command of our Master can be found in The Great Commission (Matthew 28:19): “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptising them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.”
Remember the former things, those of long ago;
I am God, and there is no other;
I am God, and there is none like me.
I make known the end from the beginning,
from ancient times, what is still to come.
I say, ‘My purpose will stand,
and I will do all that I please.’
Isaiah 46:9-10
Reflection Questions:
- Be honest: In which areas are you allowing worldly things to usurp God’s rightful reign in your life?
- What habits can you instill to follow the teachings of Jesus?
- In what ways should the mission of Jesus alter the priorities in your life?