He Is Lord

"He is Lord through our submission."

“And they rejected his statutes, and his covenant that he made with their fathers, and his testimonies which he testified against them; and they followed vanity, and became vain, and went after the heathen that were round about them, concerning whom the LORD had charged them, that they should not do like them.” (2 Kings 17:15)

VANITY IS stuff that is not the will of God. Sinful things, of course, but also what He has not told you to say or to do. This is not necessarily talking about interests, such as being a sports fan, but it can be if your interest is wrong in God’s eyes. No, I’m not going to give you a list. There are plenty in the Bible. But, for Israel, it was idol worship. They were continually worshiping inanimate objects and old wives’ tales when they knew the Truth of Jehovah.

Being honest, this I don’t get, though there are many that do so today. I want a God who’s living and breathing, a God who is tangible and good, and I’ve met one. His name is Jesus Christ. Through Him, I have the Father and the Spirit, as well. They are real and accessible. I can go boldly before the throne to find help in time of need (Hebrews 4:16). Or simply to lean there and rest. I can have conversation with them. In fact, it is encouraged. They delight in speaking TO us and THROUGH us. When speaking TO us, are we listening? When we’re speaking on their behalf, did we say Their words? Or are we back to vanity?

What interests us is not always what we should focus on. Sometimes, the subject IS in there, but we make it larger than it is. Often, it causes people to feel condemned, that’s placing the weight of their mistakes on them without any relief. But Jesus came to lift our burdens, to cleanse us of sins, not to bury our faces in them. It is vain (and cruel) to preach sin minus forgiveness, even if you meant well. Vain, because it is a dog chasing its tail. That one who now carries the weight of their guilt cannot find relief from it without knowing the kindness of God.

For God SO LOVED the world.

Vanity is detailing relationship issues on repeat. Marriage is holy, and that means pure and undefiled. Intimacy has no place in a sermon in any form. This is the Spirit’s will for the church. We are not political either. Nor should we take politics, call them morality, and use them to hate people – to correct people. Correction is done by the Spirit through the love of our Savior, of our wonderful Father, and the Holy Spirit’s tender heart. It is done IN the heart by giving peace to the mind and inner being. What causes people to see Jesus is an experience with His love.

To speak vain things in any arena is to speak our will over God’s. Vain things are things without Presence. Is what we’re saying, what we’re doing, anointed by God, or does it simply fulfill selfishness? Again, I’m not speaking about hobbies and other forms of entertainment. Jesus’ life on this earth was given entirely to the Father. Everything He said was the Father speaking. Everything He did was the Father’s works (John 14:10). To the point of His physical death, which no man took from Him, but He submitted to. We must be that committed and never satisfied with less, just to get our way. This is putting Him first.

He is Lord through our submission. He is best friend in our obedience. He is husband if we lay down our will and pick up His. I have. It was pressed on me in affliction. This, I have spoken of, but the details are forever closed. To air them would be vain. King Solomon spoke of vanity, but he was frustrated with where he stood, a position he’d chosen by giving into lust. We should not dwell on this but on how to live free of it and be healthy in body and mind. These are the apostle Paul’s words in Romans 8. The carnal mind, or the mind of someone thinking vanity and selfishly, is enmity, or hateful, about God.

You cannot say you love God if you hate people (1 John 4:20-21). Or a person. Or a group of people. This is spoken of in many pulpits when the speaker hasn’t had any experience with the height and depth, length and breadth of the size of the love God showed to me. I cannot stress enough for you to ask Him to show you His love. You will never hate anyone afterward. I promise it will not be a struggle to love.

Nor to walk without vanity. Because He becomes everything, which is where He should be, He must become more. I must become less (John 3:30). Then all things will hold value, all people will hold value, which is His desire for everyone that He died for.

“Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us, Unto him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end. Amen.” (Ephesians 3:20-21)

Photo by Ethereal Optics on Unsplash


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Suzanne D. Williams, Author
www.suzannedwilliams.com
www.feelgoodromance.com