One of my daughters was famous for always responding, “I know” and “I will”. It didn’t matter what you said or asked, she already knew how to do it or she already knew about it… and if you asked her to do something she ALWAYS said she would do it. I imagine this is not a characteristic of my kid only. I think it’s a universal kid thing.

In Luke 6:26, Jesus says, “Why do you call me ‘Lord, Lord,’ and do not do what I tell you?” I love Eugene Peterson’s translation that reads, “Why are you so polite with me, always saying ‘Yes, sir,’ and ‘That’s right, sir,’ but never doing a thing I tell you?” This sounds like a parent speaking with their teenager!

Churches have done a disservice by over-spiritualizing the term ‘Lord’ that Jesus uses here. In Jesus’ day, this word ‘kurios or kyrie’ wasn’t a religious word. Everyone used it in society to acknowledge someone who had authority or position over another (the masculine is used because in Jesus’ day authority in most situations was held by men). A king or governor – someone with ruling authority – was a kurios. An employer would be kurios to those who worked for him. If a household was wealthy, the servants would refer to the head of the household as kurios. In an educational setting, the teacher was the kurios to the students.

I grew up thinking of the term Lord as a religious title for Jesus and only him. He was kurios to his followers – any rabbi would have been. But, it is extremely important for us to know that Jesus is intentionally playing off this cultural understanding of kurios when he asks this rhetorical question. The very nature of the question itself demonstrates how absolutely ridiculous it would be in that culture to have a kurios and refuse to do what the person in authority tells them to do! To call someone your Lord and refuse to heed their words would be offensive at best, and at worst would indicate that the person was likely not your kurios/Lord after all.

When we hear the term Jesus is Lord, what do we think? I’ve thought so many things in my life. When people would ask, “Is Jesus Lord of your life?” They were often asking about a certain set of beliefs. If I didn’t align with those beliefs in the way presented, then Jesus wasn’t really Lord of my life. It was used as a tool of conformity to certain beliefs and behaviors that were laid out by churches and leaders, not always the teachings of Jesus. I now realize that Jesus is reminding his followers that it would be unheard of to have a Lord and not do what the Lord instructs. It would be unheard of to not follow the guidance of the Lord. And it would be unheard of to not give yourself fully and attach your life to the Lord. And most importantly, if would be unheard of to have a Lord and live, speak, or act in any way that would be contrary to the Lord you represent.

Modern Christians are really good at saying “Jesus is Lord!” But Jesus’ teaching in Luke 6 and throughout the Gospels, is that if you call Jesus your Lord but you are still in charge of your life, Jesus isn’t really your Lord. If you are still living life your way, Jesus isn’t really your Lord. If you are still following your own desires and pursuing your own ideas, Jesus isn’t really your Lord. If you continue to resist shaping life according to the words and actions of Jesus, then he really isn’t your kurios. Something else or someone else may by your kurios, but it isn’t Jesus.

And you know what really stings in this lesson for people who claim to be Jesus followers? Jesus isn’t speaking this line to the crowds. He isn’t speaking to the institutionalists and religious authorities. This lesson is for those who have attached themselves to him as disciples. These words are for those who are friendly to Jesus and open to what he has to say. He is challenging the orientation of his closest followers, those who chose to follow him…the very people who most quickly call him, “Lord, Lord.”