Jump Start # 747

Luke 6:46 “Why do you call Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ and do not do what I say?”

We continue our look at questions found in the New Testament. Some questions we find were asked because people wanted to know. There was doubt and uncertainty and their question sought clarification. Other questions didn’t need an answer. They were intended as statements that were directed to motives, attitudes and forced a person to look within. Our question today is one of those.

What follows this question is the Lord’s parable about the wise and foolish man. The foolish man represents the type of person that Jesus’ question identified, a person who calls Jesus, ‘Lord,’ but doesn’t obey Him. If you remember, the foolish man, who built his house upon the sand, heard Jesus, but didn’t do what He said. Away he went. Ignoring warnings, confident that he knew what he was doing, and planning for the future. He built a house upon the sand. The image of a beachfront house comes to our mind. Great view. Walk out your door to sandy beaches and the ocean. His home was the envy of others. How happy this man was. Then the storms came. Today, we’d most likely call it a hurricane. We know the damage that they can do, especially to those homes next to the ocean. The wind, the rain, the floods. All too common in our news. The house was destroyed. It was a complete loss. No insurance back then. No FEMA to come and help back then. No Red Cross to house you for a while back then. Back then, it was a total loss. The man was destroyed. He was ruined. He was wiped out.

Jesus is not talking about beaches, houses, sand and views. That is not the point of His parable. It’s about listening to Him and doing what He says. Jesus knows what He is talking about. The man who heard Jesus and ignored Him, thought otherwise. He thought he knew better than Jesus. He found out how totally wrong he was. Destroyed relationships. Destroyed health. Destroyed souls. Ruined, not because he was caught off guard, but because he wouldn’t listen. Stubborn. Prideful. Going to prove a point. Going to show others that it can be done. He became the poster child of failure.

So, why would a person acknowledge Jesus as “Lord,” and not do what He says? Obviously, such a person recognizes that Jesus isn’t just anybody. His claims, His words, His miracles, His good all point to the fact that He is Lord. This wasn’t a made up claim. This wasn’t something that He stole but never earned. Peter tells us in that first Gospel sermon that God made Him both Lord and Christ. To not recognize that Jesus is Lord is plain dumb. That fact is beyond question or dispute. The evidence is overwhelming.

The problem is a head and heart thing. Our heads tell us that Jesus is Lord. He is in charge. He is right. He is God. He is the one that we need to listen to. Our hearts tell us that we can get along just fine without doing things His way. Our hearts want to do something else. It’s a battle that every person fights. Some learn early and some never do seem to learn. They want Jesus to be Lord, but not in all things. They still want to build a house upon the sand and yet maintain Jesus as Lord. That simply won’t work. That head and heart battle will produce guilt, frustration and doubt. Too much Christ in you to be happy in the world. Too much world in you to be a happy Christian. Head and heart. The head knows what to do. The head has heard Jesus. It’s not a matter of not knowing, the head knows. He has heard Jesus. He has read the Bible. He has listened to sermons and Bible studies. He knows.

The heart simply doesn’t want to do what the head knows. The outcome of this internal battle is based upon which one is more powerful. If he listens to his head, reason and Scripture will prevail. He will do the right thing. He will be tempted, but he will come through because of his head. If the heart is stronger, emotions and feelings will conquer reason and Scripture. Weak excuses champion why he chooses what he does. He finds a way to ignore the warnings of the Bible. He justifies a life that disobeys Jesus. Often the church is blamed. Sometimes the finger is pointed to the failure of other Christians. This becomes his reason to not do what Jesus said. He still holds to the fact that Jesus is Lord, but he will also build his house upon the sand in spite of what Jesus said. No one is going to tell him how to live, not even the Lord Jesus. He is confident that he will be fine. Everything will work out. And for a while it seems he is right, until the storm comes. There is always a storm. The storm changes everything. No one wants a beachfront home in a hurricane. Worst place to be. The storm proved that Jesus was right. Jesus knew what He was talking about. What a tragic mistake the man made by building his house upon the sand. If he had only listened and obeyed Jesus!

I have found that most head and heart battles, the desires to build upon the sand, most often involve personal matters instead of doctrinal matters. A relationship grows old and one wants out of a marriage. The Lord has spoken about that. A head and heart battle takes place.  Which will win? Reason and Scripture or emotion and pride? It depends which is stronger. Why do you call me Lord and not do what I say? That’s what this is about.

Flirting with the world, bending the rules, less strict, more blending in with others—all of these things comes down to, “Why do you call me ‘Lord, Lord,’ and do not do what I say?” When the heart wins, our choices and decisions are saying that Jesus is Lord but that doesn’t do anything for me. When the head wins, our choices and decisions are saying that Jesus is the Lord of my life. Self control and righteousness are the core values that define who I am.

Head and heart…it’s a constant battle. Reason vs. emotion. Facts vs. selfishness. Lord vs. self. Building upon rock or building upon the sand.

We know…it’s the doing part that’s hard. The doing part gets easier when you want to do what Jesus said. Build faith. Build upon what is true. Listen to Jesus. He knows.

Roger