Getting Real

It is a frightening thing to live in a world where Christ is King.  Actually, we live in such a world.  We simply do not truly acknowledge it.  We talk about Jesus being Lord.  We talk about the way He directs our life and the importance of living according to the values of His Kingdom.  What we also know is that talk is easy.  Fleshing out the talk is hard.  Our own agenda and what we know as peer pressure often is such a force in our life that we end up somewhere short of living in abandonment to the way of Christ.  We want to be one of those who belongs to Jesus, but not all the time.    

For most of us the problem is not a visible one.  We know the right thing to do in most situations and if we feel the scrutiny of someone watching, we can make the good choice even it is made with silent reservations.  The true measure of who we and our loyalty to the Christ comes in those moments when no one is looking.  In those moments what really motivates us and who is in control of our decisions is revealed to us and the Christ who is always present.  We can choose not to speak the harsh or unkind word, but if we simply refrain from speaking it because someone will think less of us, Jesus would say the word is already in our heart and we are as guilty as the one who speaks it.    

Anyone who seriously reads the Sermon on the Mount knows that it takes us into the realm of the heart.  We can make the right choice, perform the right action, but if we do it without love as the reason then we have missed the mark.  Jesus never lets us off the hook at this point.  We can join others in looking righteous.  We can do the right thing.  What we do though is not as important as what is in our heart.  It is in our heart, the  place where no one else sees, that the real issue of obedience is determined.  If Christ is not King in our heart from which all our visible actions spring forth, then we are only giving lip service to the matter of living in abandonment to Him.