Why do we call Jesus Lord? There should really only be one reason. Jesus, himself, asked the same question in the final verses of Luke Six. He asked in Luke 6:46, “And why call ye me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say?” By calling Jesus Lord, we are saying, 'you are the master; say and I will do.' How often do we stop and take stock of the words we use and claim to understand?
They all loved to sit around and hear Jesus speak. We do as well. With thumb and finger to our collective chin, we give the nod of wizened sage, but that nod is more like a congratulatory pat on the back. We came, we listened, we nodded. In doing so, we have only approached the constituents of our lives in the spirit of a master. In our hearts, we never relinquish our white-knuckled grip on the reins. We turn our steed into the onslaught of personal reality and spur the beast for speed.
We rarely stop and take stock. We know the words, but that is simply head-knowledge and a far cry from understanding. Even those of us who understand stand at a considerable distance from the wisdom of acting upon what we understand. What is the wise thing to do? Stop and accept the fact that calling Jesus Lord is an act of relinquishment. That will not occur until, at the stage of understanding, one breaks free of book-smarts and begins to incorporate truth rather than merely recognize it.
Let's do that here. Turn loose of the reins. Climb down from your speeding mount and give due consideration to what Jesus is actually saying.
First up are the blind people mentioned in Luke 6:39. It is apparent that the blind do not perceive the light. This parable is about light and dark. It is the difference between being alive and only existing. It contrasts understanding against book-smarts. It highlights those who incorporate truth. The blind recognize the world around them, but they are not illuminated. The light shines all around them, but they do not see it.
Let us imagine that you are in need. You need to be guided, taken by the hand and led along. People like yourself, and that includes you, will not fit the bill. There is a quality of ineptitude about the blind. They simply lack all experience when it comes to the light. When we accept the hand that is to guide us, we give control to another. Wouldn't we rather have a guide who actually sees more than we do? We know there is a ditch out there somewhere; it is our fervent desire that our guide knows more than we do. In that same light, or lack thereof, why take the hand of a guide if you will not let yourself be led?
In verse 40, Jesus gives an example of being blind. You have taken the master's hand. You handed over the reins. That is a declaration that you at least recognize your darkness and need. All that is left is for you to receive instructions: step here, step there. While you are learning, that is: incorporating what the master gives you, you are not yet complete. Anyone who is complete must be recognized as in possession of the light you seek.
The parable of the mote, verses 41-42, places the disciple in the role of the blind guide. You simply have not reached the place where you may act in that manner. You still need to learn from those who have more light in them than you do. If you recognize that you are at that place rather than at the place of a guide, then you must also recognize that you are engaged in more than the gathering of facts and figures. Knowing about something, even being in a state of agreement with something, is still being in the dark.
The dark and the light are personal levels of you. You must incorporate light, not just know of or agree with it. You must bring that light into who you are. You must remake yourself with the light. Until you do, the darkness remains. If the earnest acceptance of instruction from Jesus brings light into your persona, that is, not just calling Jesus Lord, but doing what he says, then your willing state and propensity to be educable is the end result of the incorporation of light into who you are (becoming.)
The good tree, in verse 43-44, speaks to that nature. If you are the tree that calls Jesus Lord then you bear the appropriate fruit. You will be instructed. You will do the things he says to do and thereby incorporate light into your being. For every tree is known by its own fruit. What this entails is like the acorn tree accepting the instructions of the acorn seed. The acorn fruit is proof of incorporation.
If the fig tree puts forth thorns for fruit, it has not been instructed by the fig seed. It has only provided lip service. If the grapevine calls the grape seed Lord but puts forth brambles, then it is evident in the fruit what the grape has incorporated. It shows. It is there for all to see. You cannot be spiritual if your fruit is the fruit of worldliness. You cannot claim enlightenment is your fruit is only that of facts and figures.
Furthermore, we see in verse 45, that in the comparison of men to trees, it is from the spirit that we produce our fruit that proves who and what we really are. A good spirit produces good fruit and an evil spirit produces evil fruit. Within each of us is an accumulating abundance of our ongoing incorporation. Like busy caterpillars, we continually munch – and we are what we eat: it shows. How does it show? Whatever it is we are all about, that is the thing we will speak of the most. Our conversation will always return to what we believe and what we do.
I've spoken of incorporation of instruction, of light, of truth. How important is it? The final parable of Luke six shows us that we cannot simply come to Jesus and listen. Up to that point, there is only knowledge and understanding. To be at the level of wisdom, we must do the things we know and understand. They must be a part of our persona, our character, our very nature. The thing about having a foundation is a solid connection to the stuff that makes you who you are.
The caterpillar locks his many legs into his food source, physically becoming one with it. As food sources go, the caterpillar chooses to incorporate only what he is locked into. The evidence of preference will be there for all to see. Between the man with a foundation and the man without a foundation, the stream that beats vehemently against them is one and the same. That is to say that there are not two sets of rules. Those who espouse a worldly philosophy are subject to the same spiritual stream. While they insist on being the master of their own destinies, they have failed to avail themselves of things necessary for their completion.
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