Jesus: Consultant or King?

I recently heard a famous pastor ask a question to his congregation.  He stoically looked at the crowd and said, "Is Jesus just your consultant, or is he your king?"  The question is simple, but profound.  It goes to the very core of what people think about the connection between belief and obedience.  This is the same question that Jesus asked his disciples in Matthew 16:15-16: "But what about you? he asked.  Who do you say that I am?  Simon Peter answered, You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God."  As you may know, Christ then goes on to tell Peter that he will become the rock of the church.  The rest is history (about two-thousand years of history to be exact).

The same question applies to us today.  How do you and I view Jesus?  Is he just a wise teacher that we consult with every once in a while, when we are trying to make an important life decision?  Or do we drop to our knees and worship him every day as Lord and King?  The way we answer this will determine not only our future here on Earth, but also our destiny in the next life.  And there is life after life by the way.  Not only does Jesus talk about a reward in Heaven, but there are countless stories of near death experiences where people have been resuscitated after clinical death, and were given a glimpse into heaven or hell.  The truth is out there.  

So if this question is so important, then why do so many people today ignore it?  Why don't they go to church, pray regularly, or seek after a Holy and forgiving God?  If I knew the answer, I would write another book about it.  I believe there are many reasons, not the least of which is the fact that churches and church people can seem very intimidating.  Others may have been hurt by someone in the church, or by the authority given to elders and leaders.  I totally get it.  But here is the good news.  Each and every person has the same opportunity to flip through the pages of the Bible and read what Jesus said and did.  They can make up their own mind about him, even without necessarily becoming "churched."  There is no one that God cannot reach, even in countries where the Bible has been banned.  

And so we have come to the point where you as the reader must ask yourself the same question.  Is Jesus your consultant, or is he something more than that?  I hope that you come to the same conclusion as I did - that he was and is, the Son of God, come to seek and save the lost.  I was lost once, and you probably were too.  But if your life has taken a more spiritual path, then most likely it's because you view Christ as lord and savior.  Once that revelation takes hold in a person's mind, nothing else can compete.  It wasn't meant to.  

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