S18P3 – The Characters of God: our Lord

Deut. 6:5
You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and mind and with all your soul and with all your strength.

The word lord can be defined as someone or something having power, authority or influence. Synonyms include master, ruler and sovereign. The scriptures are replete with passages which refer to God as our Lord and rightly so. It is a recognition of his sovereignty and majesty. This title expresses respect and reverence for the high place of God, seated upon a heavenly throne, above all other powers and principalities. The title of Lord removes all doubt over the authority that belongs to God.

This greatest commandment, to love the Lord our God will everything we possess, is a call to obedience. A Lord calls the shots, and those under his authority follow his rule. Jesus himself tells us that not every person who calls him Lord will enter heaven but only those who have done the Father’s will [Matt. 7:21]. Saying that God is our Lord must be supported by our obeying him as Lord. We must relinquish our lives, ourselves, to his will. Submitting to his authority and his rule are what indicate to us that He indeed has become our Lord.

We cannot recognize God properly without confessing that He is seated on the highest throne of all and, as such, possesses all power and authority. We cannot call ourselves subjects of the sovereign Lord if we do not submit to his will. To follow the Lord is to submit humbly to him as his majesty and sovereignty demand. Father, continue to increase our understanding of your royalty, and continue to increase our humility so that we may submit to You as You deserve, wholly and honestly.