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The most common description of "relationship status" these days seems to be, "It's complicated." Well, welcome to everyday living. It's complicated. We all have a stack of things we're juggling all the time. There is family and friends, work and play, culture and faith. We have all the concerns of physical, emotional, economic, and religious well-being along with every other factor. We have our plans and our dreams, our shortcomings and our disappointments, our successes and our tragedies. So we try to pick our way through all of this to arrive at what's best for each of us.

One of the factors for Christians is Jesus. We juggle all that stuff and plug in Jesus to the mix. Maybe it means we go to church on Sunday or read our Bibles and pray sometimes or ... whatever works for us. Some of us put Him high on our agenda and others not so much. Whatever works best for us.

Of course, the whole concept is problematic. When asked how he could be saved, Paul told the Philippian jailer, "Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household." (Acts 16:13) Note the phrase: "the Lord Jesus." The term is rather odd in our modern ears. It wasn't when they used it. They understood the concept of submission, of a ruler over all things (Psalm 103:19). Jesus claimed all authority (Matthew 28:18) and expected full obedience (John 14:15). It was in this sense that Paul (Romans 1:1; Galatians 1:10; Titus 1:1) and James (James 1:1) and Peter (2 Peter 2:1) and Jude (Jude 1:1) and John (Revelation 1:1) all referred to themselves as "bond-servants." We speak lightly of inviting Jesus into our lives, but He comes in as Master, not just another factor. Further, we know His aim, His will, His ultimate purpose for us. All of life has one, singular point: glorify God (Romans 15:6; 1 Corinthians 6:20; 1 Corinthians 10:31, etc.).

Go back to that "it's complicated" again; starting with "what's best for us," rewrite it from this perspective. Jesus isn't a factor; He is all that matters. If we saw Him for what He is, we would be working at divesting ourselves of ourselves. We would be starting with Christ as central and then looking at every single factor in our life through the lens of "How can I serve Christ by glorifying God in this?" Whether it's friends or family, work or play, physical or spiritual, in private or in public, every single aspect of every single day would be colored by "How can I serve Christ by glorifying God in this?" Jesus wouldn't be a factor; He would be all. We're not there yet.

"Inspiration For You" from Randy Mitchell

Honoring A Father