Jesus, Lord of the dead and the living

Romans 14:9 For to this end Christ died and lived again, that He might be Lord both of the dead and of the living. What a great encouragement we have in this verse. Jesus’ death and resurrection had a purpose according to Paul. One purpose or end was that He might be Lord of when, how, and why we die or live. From one perspective, we are the dead. We died when Jesus died. From another perspective, we are living. When Jesus was raised, we were raised to live with Him. In either condition, Jesus is Lord. In Romans 1:4, Paul introduced Jesus, “who was declared the Son of God with power by the resurrection from the dead, according to the Spirit of holiness, Jesus Christ our Lord.” In Peter’s sermon at Pentecost he proclaimed,“Therefore let all the house of Israel know for certain that God has made Him both Lord and Christ—this Jesus whom you crucified” (Acts 2:36). Do you see the beauty of what God did in Jesus’ death and resurrection? Paul alluded to it in Phil. 2:8-11. “Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. For this reason also, God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus EVERY KNEE WILL BOW, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” How much do you treasure what God did in uniting you with Jesus’ death and resurrection? May the eyes of our hearts be opened to see “what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, and what is the surpassing greatness of His power toward us who believe. These are in accordance with the working of the strength of His might which He brought about in Christ, when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places, far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come.” Our encouragement today is to recognize that God has made Jesus our Lord, the master of our living and dying. He directs each of His own as He pleases to accomplish the will of His Father and glorify His name. He will do that with us today as we surrender to His will and live to love with Jesus. Acknowledgment: Music from “Carried by the Father” by Eric Terlizzi. www.ericterlizzi.com