This morning, I opened my Bible just like I typically do. I had my bag with all of my highlighters and was ready to dig into today's reading in my Bible reading plan. Then, as I read Matthew 27, the Lord illuminated something in that passage that I had not really noticed before.
In his gospel account, one of Jesus' disciples, Matthew, recorded this, "They stripped him and put a scarlet robe on him, and then twisted together a crown of thorns and set it on his head. They put a staff in his right hand. Then they knelt in front of him and mocked him. 'Hail, king of the Jews!' they said" (Matthew 27:28-29 NIV).
Right before His crucifixion, soldiers mocked Jesus and said, "Hail, king of the Jews," but what they did not realize is that the man to whom they bowed in mockery was the King of kings. They stood in the presence of royalty and rather than responding with reverence, they responded with ridicule.
Today, people may not be standing physically in front of Jesus, but they, too, laugh in His face. They, too, choose to follow their own way rather than follow His. What they do not realize is that one day they will bow to Jesus and acknowledge who He is.
The Apostle Paul said in his letter to the church at Philippi, "Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father" (Philippians 2:9-11 NIV).
I do not know where you stand with God; I do not know your story. What I do know, however, is that you need a relationship with Jesus. You need to surrender to His lordship.
Right now, maybe, you live life as if you are your own god. You follow your own rules, you do what you think is right, you define what is "good" for yourself. Yet, if you are honest, you know this way of life only leads to emptiness. If today you will bow to Jesus in sincerity and surrender, you will never be empty again. In fact, your cup will overflow (Psalm 23:5).
Do you realize that one day, you will bow to Jesus and recognize that He is Lord, that He is the King of kings? It is going to happen. The question is, when?
Will you surrender to Jesus and confess Him as your Lord now and enter a life of peace, joy, and purpose and live eternally with Him? Or, will you choose to be the lord of your own life and confess Jesus later, when there will be no choice (and no more second chances)?
That might sound a bit direct and maybe even blunt, but I think it is important that we all understand that there is punishment for sin. You can take that punishment by spending an eternity separated from God in torment, or you can accept Jesus' payment on the cross and spend eternity with Him in complete peace. Jesus took our punishment (and rose from the dead!) so that we could have a relationship with God and not have to spend an eternity in hell! Accept His free gift today.
Maybe, you are reading this, and you already know Jesus. He is your Lord, but recently, you have started to try to grab the wheel back from Him so to speak. Stay surrendered. Let Him lead and guide your life. After all, He is the One who gave you life and knows the purpose for your life.
I want to live my life surrendered to Jesus. He is my Lord. He is in control of my life. He knows what is best for me, and I will follow Him wherever He calls.
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