“These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life…” 1 John 5:13
It is important for us to have a correct understanding of what it means by “believing” in order for us to walk in the right path. ‘belief’ is to have faith or confidence in someone or something. Those who believe in Jesus means that they have firm confidence and faith in Jesus Christ. One implication of those who believe in Jesus is honoring Jesus as the Lord of their lives. How can someone honor Christ in his or her life? That person must have the right perspective of who he or she calls as Lord. If they view the word “Lord” as a mere title, without understanding the meaning of that word, it is going to be so difficult to honor Him. The perspective will determine one’s attitude.
What does it mean by “lord”? The word ‘Lord’ is translated from the Greek word ‘Kurios’, which have several meanings. The first meaning is the Master – Owner. Jesus died on the cross to redeem mankind from the slavery of sin. The crucifixion is the process of purchasing mankind with full payment. By law, Jesus is the new Owner (Master) of every person who believes. Believers need to realize that they are sinners who now have a new Master. He must be grateful for the purchase and honor Jesus by obeying all His commands. Without realizing this, people find it difficult to honor God.
The second meaning is The Ruling King. People who live in a Kingdom understand how to honor their king. Not only honor, the people even worship the king because of his position. The king is their leader, he has the power over their lives, from birth to death. Honoring the king is something that must be done. Christ is the King of all things. We who are redeemed by the blood of Christ are the people of the Kingdom of God. We are grateful to be moved from the kingdom of darkness to become the citizens of the Kingdom of God by the generosity of the King. And in the end, we will live with the King forever and ever. What should be done by the Kingdom citizens is to worship the King as a form of respect. As a believer, it will be difficult to honor Christ if you do not have this point of view.
The third meaning is God – the Messiah. A humankind who has lived in sin since Adam and Eve didn’t have a way out of sin other than the promised Messiah. The coming of Jesus, the Messiah, is the only way of salvation; to save and set mankind free from sin. This work of salvation is less appreciated if one does not understand the consequences of sin, i.e. eternal death. People often just realize the consequences of their sins or mistakes in terms of the difficulties or problems that arise in their daily lives. They are often unaware of the long-term consequence, especially because the evil spirits work so hard to make people not focus on eternity. God’s grace that saves believers must be responded with a truly grateful heart.
Those who believe in Christ will honor Christ as Lord who has ransomed us from the slavery of sin, save us from death, and make us citizens of the Kingdom of God. We honor Him by worshipping Him and holding on to His Word in our daily lives.
Source: GBI Gatot Subroto’s article, Jakarta