An excerpt from the book Follow Me by David Platt
Ch. 4 “When followers of Christ share stories of how they became Christians, they often say something along the lines of, “I decided to make Jesus my personal Lord and Savior.” Initially and ultimately, of course, it’s wonderful to hear brothers and sisters recount the moment when their hearts were opened to the incomprehensibly passionate love of God…. At the same time, when I reflect on that particular statement – “I have decided to make Jesus my personal Lord and Savior” I can’t help but wonder how much this idea represents some subtly yet significantly dangerous trends in contemporary Christianity.
On one level, this statement minimizes the inherent authority of Jesus. Surely none of us can decide to make him Lord. Jesus IS Lord, regardless of what you or I decide….
…The real question is whether you or I will SUBMIT to his lordship, and this is the essence of conversation.
End excerpt.
After reading this section of the chapter I had to pause. It begs the act of self-examination. I know Jesus is Lord of all of us, regardless of whether we all believe it or not. I believe it. But in my life, do I live it? And when I say Live…what I mean is submit?
Understanding and believing that Christ is our Lord and Savior is honestly, one of the easier parts of this relationship. You look out the window and you know there is a creator, who absolutely loves each one of us. He loves us so much that He has designed a beautiful life and path for each of us, that is there if we really want it.
Where it gets hard is the relationship part – the step after believing. Satan does an amazing job of distracting us from what God truly intended for us. It is so easy to fall into the trap of selfish living. Needing more things, more money, more recognition, bigger house, nicer car…the list goes on and on.
Christ calls us to a life of serving others and putting others before ourselves [Matthew 29:40, Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did it to one of these brothers of Mine, even the least of them, you did it to Me.] Submitting our wants, desires, and selfish ways, and focusing on serving and helping others is the first step to living a life submitted to God. [John 3:30; He must become greater, I must become less].
It is not sinful or wrong to have desires and to plan life for yourself. God wants to bless us with everything. He wants our lives to be filled with joy, peace, love and happiness. Where the sin comes is wanting the ways of this world more than the ways of God [Exodus 20:3, there shall be no other God before me].
When we live a life of submission to Christ our hearts, desires, wants, needs will align with His and the true blessings of a fulfilled life will be yours.
My prayer today is this: “Lord, help me to live a life that is truly in accordance to your will. Help me to keep you first, before all things in my life. Help me to submit my desires to you, trusting that you know best and have my best interest at heart. I trust you with all that I am and am grateful for all that you have already blessed me with. You know my heart, my desires and my needs. I give them to you and pray that your will in my life be done. Amen.
A Journey To Jesus 
Insightful and well stated. This is the daily decision we all face of who will be Lord in our life today? “Take up your cross daily and follow me…”
Many still believe in God and that Christ is our Savior. Some have a true personal relationship with Him. The submitting part is definitely what challenges, limits and discourages most. I think there are those that want to submit to Him but do not know how or what it truly means to submit, and of course there are those who are scared of the required sacrifices associated with that submission. Furthermore, I believe that even a well-intended believer, including myself, struggles with the balance between living a life of Christ and surviving in the world. But I also think the definition of being a Christian has led to the diluting of the Church and Faith. Submission is not in itself a familiar term among Christians. We are taught to “believe,” be “born again,” be “baptized,” and/or live your life according to “what Jesus would do.” Though these are important steps and wise words to live by, they are not enough. I agree that true submission is the ultimate commitment. But is submission a familiar enough term for most Christians and how do we, as individual Christians, understand and achieve that submission?
That is a great question Todd! I agree that submission is not a term taught in church because with submission comes work. And more and more it seems that churches are trying to make life “easy” on the believer, so they keep coming back every Sunday. Submitting to Christ is to give up of self. Romans 12:1-2, which I blogged about today, is a great example of submitting your life to Christ and the reward you receive in that – which is truly hearing from Him and being able to test and know His will in your life. Submission means to serve only God and not the things of this world. The definition of submission is: the action or fact of accepting or yielding to a superior force or to the will or authority of another person. We are to yield to God. When I visualize yielding I picture myself slowing down and looking around to see what is coming or what is ahead before moving forward. I think that is what God wants us to do with Him. Slow down, look and see what is ahead before moving. When we yield to God, we allow TIME to observe Him, hear for Him, and to know how and when to move forward. Thank you for sharing your comment!!