If Jesus is “Lord of all,” then how is this seen in our journey through life?
Dutch church leader, Abraham Kuyper, explains, “There is not a square inch in the whole domain of our human existence over which Christ, who is Lord of all, does not cry, Mine!”
Sunday – Monday divide
As a Christ-follower, one of the biggest challenges is allowing Jesus to be Lord of every aspect of our lives. It is easy to do on Sunday. We come together, as Christ’s people, to worship the risen Jesus and to encourage each other towards love and good deeds. However, it is harder to see how this looks on Monday. How do we live out our faith in our workplaces, our schools, our families, in the way we spend our money and spare time etc., during the week?
God and sport
One of the pivotal events for me in this journey was witnessing the framework of sports chaplaincy developed in Australia. From the late 1980’s volunteer chaplains went out from their churches to pastorally care for their local communities because those churches recognized that Jesus was interested in people at the local sporting club. For me, Jesus as Lord of all was seen in the way Dr. Mark Tronson married the concept of the church, as Christ’s hands and feet, with Australian culture’s love of sport.
This perspective changed my life to see that God is interested in every aspect of our lives. And if God has given us gifts and blessed us with specific passions to be used for His glory then He wants us to be using these in whatever sphere He has placed us. As a result Jesus is to be Lord of our sport, our music, our art, our relationships, and even our trials and challenges.
Lord of the tough times
In James chapter 1 verses 3 to 4, he explains, that the “testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.” Even trials are part of our faith journey with Jesus. He is not only walking with us through these trials but is using them to make us grow.
Christian author, Jerry Bridges from Navigators talks about three bedrocks for this journey of trusting Jesus to be Lord of all.
Firstly, God is all loving.
Secondly, God is all knowing.
Thirdly, God is all powerful. God’s love for us is without question and perfectly displayed in Jesus dying in our place for our sin.
God also created us and knows what we need (i.e. “mature, not lacking anything” James chapter 1 verse 4), not just what we want. As the Creator of all He is also all powerful, able to bring about His loving plan for us.
This is an extremely comforting fact that God has all things under His control. So comforting, in fact, that we can give Him all areas of our lives and allow Him to be Lord of all.
Jeremy Dover is a former sports scientist and Pastor
Jeremy Dover's previous articles may be viewed at https://www.pressserviceinternational.org/jeremy-dover1.html
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