Jesus Christ came to be our Savior. But he cannot be our Savior unless we put him on the throne as the Master of our life.
Through the spiritual valleys of life, when problems would willingly capsize our faith, it’s comforting to remember that Jesus is a Savior who has promised his disciples a home in a land that is problem free. We love to focus on being an adopted child of the King who will reign forever. “Jesus, [who] delivered us from the wrath to come,” says 1 Thessalonians 1:10. We gladly claim him for our Savior.
But sometimes we forget the other side of the coin, the second blade of the scissors.
“Jesus Christ is not only Savior,” writes Oswald Chambers in He Shall Glorify Me. “He is King, and He has the right to exact anything and everything from us at His own discretion. We talk about the joys and comforts of salvation; Jesus Christ talks about taking up the cross and following Him. . . . Jesus Christ is Savior, and He saves us into his own absolute and holy lordship.”34
When we accept Jesus Christ as our Savior and expect him to save us “from the wrath to come,” it’s wise to also realize that this means making him the Master of our entire life, not only the convenient bits and pieces we’d like to turn over to him.
Just as the two blades of a pruning shears can’t be separated and still function as a shears, so we can’t separate the Savior of Christ from the Master of Christ. If we try to accept him as our Savior without acknowledging him as our Master, we’re like those whom Jesus mentioned in Matthew 7:21: “Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven.”
It’s possible to hear God’s Word, to believe that Jesus is the Savior, and still not humbly submit to his authority as Master.
Verse 21 concludes with Jesus adding, “But he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven [shall enter heaven].” That is the difference.
If Jesus is our Master, we expect to do his will. Someone once noted, “Many people want to serve God, but only in an advisory capacity.” Unfortunately, those are the ones who want a Savior to take them to heaven but not a Master to serve while here on earth.
Sometimes when I’m trying to work out a problem and I’m praying about it, I realize it sounds as if I’m trying to advise God. Then I have to remember a question I read one day. It’s good to periodically ask it of myself. “Do I serve God, or do I expect him to serve me?”
There’s a difference. And he is my Savior only as I submit to him as my Master.
| Prayer | Reflection |
| I want to take up my cross and follow you, Lord, and I long to submit completely to your kingship and to your authority in my life. As my Savior, you have a perfect right to ask anything of me. | Is Jesus the Master and King of my life, as well as my Savior? How can I tell? |