We are living in an era in which everyone wants to feel good. Self-esteem is the “in” thing. We fear making anyone feel badly about themselves. Some schools have even dropped giving grades for classes because those who get low grades may lose that good feeling about themselves. We even have TV evangelists whose emphasis is on making people feel good about who they are—without regard to the condition of human sin.
In the same way, we are living in an era in which people think they can rush into the presence of God and treat Him just like a friend or buddy. One of the popular hymns of all times is “What a Friend We Have in Jesus.” We have always regarded Jesus as our friend
If Jesus would appear in your church on a Sunday morning, you would not rush up to Him or expect to embrace Him. You would instead go down on your knees and worship. The apostle John was the closest of all disciples to Jesus. He even referred to
himself in his own gospel as “the disciple whom Jesus loved.” In the Upper Room, John was sitting next to Jesus, reclining close to Him. However, when he had the vision of the glorified Christ on the Isle of Patmos, he fell at His feet as if dead (Revelation 1:17).
When Peter and the other disciples could not catch any fish, Jesus commanded them to put the nets down and they “enclosed a large number of fish,” and they filled the boat. Peter, when he saw it, “fell down at Jesus’ knees saying, ‘Depart from me, for I am a sinful man O Lord.’”
It is not that Jesus is not our friend; it is that He is much more than that. It may be that even in some of our worship services, we have made Jesus so much our friend and buddy that we have forgotten His majesty. We forget that He is Lord of all, God in the flesh. We are called to fall down and worship Him and like the multitude in the book of Revelation, cry out:
“Hallelujah
For the Lord our God
The Almighty reigns.
Let us rejoice and exalt
And give Him the glory.”
Revelation 19:6b-7a
This may seem very unimportant, however, how we live our life and how we respond to our own sin is wrapped up in how we see God and Jesus. Words like “awe” and “respect” have lost their meaning in todays world. We dare not lose the meaning of these words when we refer to Jesus. He is not just our redeemer, He is also our judge.
He is not just our buddy or friend, He is our ruler and Lord. We are His servants.
