As we have read through the Gospels, we see each author write about the Resurrection of Jesus. These range from Mark’s rather abbreviated account to the longer account we have here, and John will have even more about the post-resurrection appearances of Jesus. The Resurrection is a critical fact for Christianity, for without it we would have no way to know that Jesus’ death was anything more than the ending of human life that occurs for all people. It is vital to the proclamation of the gospel that Jesus is truly alive.

The gospel writers are honest enough to write the truth about the reaction of Jesus’ followers to the news of His resurrection. There was not an immediate and rapid embrace of the truth that Jesus was alive. Here in Luke’s gospel he recounts several post-resurrection accounts, with followers witnessing the empty tomb or Jesus Himself. In each of these, there is a degree of hesitancy or even of skepticism that what they were seeing was real.

This phenomenon, and a possible reason for it, is seen in the extended account of Jesus on the road to Emmaus. Two members of Jesus’ extended circle of disciple were headed home from Jerusalem, about seven miles from Emmaus. The bane of only one, Cleopas, is given, which may indicate he was known to Luke and perhaps well-known in the early church. They were discussing the events that had recently happened, including the death of Jesus and the rumors of His resurrection. Jesus joined them as a fellow-traveler, though the two did not recognize Him, perhaps through divine intervention.

Jesus asked them what they were discussing. This question caused them to come to a stop, shocked that someone from the area of Jerusalem could be ignorant of the events that had taken place in that city. In recounting these events, Cleopas indicated that the two travelers had expected Jesus to be the One who would redeem Israel. Their messianic expectations had been dashed by Jesus’ crucifixion, but now they were puzzled by the news brought by the women that the tomb was empty.

Jesus rebuked the two for their ignorance of the prophecies of the Old Testament concerning the Messiah. He then proceeded to open the Scriptures and explain all that had been written about Him. (This is a lesson many scholars wish one of the men had written down!) When the encouraged Jesus to stay with them, He agreed to eat with them. As He broke the bread and blessed it, their eyes were opened, and they recognized Jesus. Even as He vanished from their sight, they admitted that His teaching had been “burning within them” and, now believing that Jesus was alive, they rushed back to Jerusalem to report that they had seen Jesus.

Accounts such as this remind us that the Resurrection was not easily understood or accepted by Jesus’ early followers. It took some convincing for them to accept that He was alive. Even when He appeared physically before them, His disciples had trouble accepting the truth of His resurrection. Perhaps their disappointment at His death, or their dashed messianic hopes, made them hesitant to believe, as with the two from Emmaus. This hesitancy actually serves to add to our confidence in the gospel accounts, which do not hide the struggles of Jesus’ followers to accept His resurrection. We have accounts that do not sugar-coat the story or make the early Christians appear with super faith, so we can trust that what they are telling us is true.

People have always been attracted to wealth and all it can provide in life. We are impressed when we see spectacular buildings, magnificent works of art, displays of precious metals and gems, or anything else whose value catches out eye. It isn’t surprising that this is so, since human nature craves security, and we think that wealth can provide security. After all, that’s what we see in our world, where the rich are praised and admired, while those who struggle with poverty are pitied and often rejected.

This pursuit of wealth may be understandable among people who think this world is all there is, but for Christians such an obsession results from our failure to put earthly things in proper perspective. There is nothing wrong with a believe earning and having earthly treasures, but if those treasures take our focus off Jesus they become a snare. Our faith can start to shift to our own resources rather than what the Lord does for us. The accumulation of more wealth can become a goal that prevents us from using what we have to benefit others.

In some cases, churches help perpetuate this unhealthy attitude toward wealth. Here in Luke 21 we see the people in the Temple eyeing the gifts of the wealthy and crediting them for their generosity. These gifts were likely given in an ostentatious manner, with visual flourishes and the rattling of coins in the Temple offering boxes. These givers wanted everyone to know that they had brought an offering and that it was larger than most of the people could afford. They wanted the applause of the people around them for what they did.

While others found these gifts commendable, Jesus saw through their act. He knew what they gave, while a substantial gift, was just made from what they could spare. Looking for an example of true giving, Jesus pointed to a widow who dropped in two lepta, a coin roughly equivalent to a penny. Such a gift appeared to be insignificant, and certainly far less impressive than the large donations made by the wealthy. Jesus knew, however, that those tiny coins represented all the money the widow had. While the rich gave from their excess, the widow gave all.

Jesus went on to warn those who were impressed by the decorative flourishes of the Temple no to focus on the material trappings of the building. Herod’s Temple was a majestic building, constructed to please his Jewish subjects. It was a renovation of the Temple build after Exile, which had stood for over 500 years, and now stood in splendor over Jerusalem. This was an awesome sight, designed to reflect the glory of God, yet Jesus warned it too was only temporary. A day was coming when the judgment of God would be carried out, and the Temple would not survive. Just about 40 years after Jesus’ pronouncement here, the Temple was indeed leveled, and it has not been rebuilt since.

Wealth is useful while we live here on earth, but it must be used wisely. We should not be impressed by the wealth of other people or by all that money can buy. If we are blessed by the Lord with material possessions, we must be ready to use them for His work and for His glory. Material goods will only last for a while; in the end, what matters is the treasure we lay up in heaven. While we are here, we must use what God has given us to help others, to spread the good news about Jesus, and to meet the needs of the world. What we have has been given to us by God, so let us determine that we will use it for Him.

Many of Jesus’ parables are found in more than one gospel. Some of them are very similar, even in their details, while others vary significantly in the way they are presented. Those that show greater variety may cause some readers to question the accuracy of the gospel writers in transmitting these teachings. If we think about teachers or preachers we have heard, we will probably be able to come up with some stories and illustrations they have used on multiple occasions. These stories don’t always have the same amount of detail, and some parts of the story may be different in the various retellings. Each one can stand on its own, however, and the context in which they are told may have a bearing on why some the details vary.

As we come to the parable of the ten minas in Luke 19:11-27, we find some ways that the parable is told differently on this occasion. Looking at the setting of the story, we see that Jesus is approaching Jerusalem for the last time, facing the prospect of rejection and death. Many of His followers were expecting the kingdom to come soon, if not immediately, and that Jesus would take the throne as the Messianic King. With this setting in mind, we can see why there is some variation in the way Jesus tells the story.

On this occasion, Jesus describes ten servants who are all given equal gifts of a mina, which was equal to about three months’ wages. As they put the minas to use, we are only told of the results three of the servants achieved, but that is enough to make the point Jesus has in mind. Each of His followers has the responsibility to use what they have been given for the sake of His kingdom. Those who prove themselves faithful will be given more responsibility in the coming kingdom, while those who fails to use their gifts will lose what little they have.

This version of the parable also has the curious addition of passing allusions to the nobleman receiving a kingdom. As he travels to receive this kingdom, his subjects announce their opposition to his rule over them. At the end of the story, he has his opponents destroyed. Scholars do not agree on the specific meaning of these passages, but given the context in which Jesus is telling the story it is likely that this is aimed at the Jewish leaders who opposed Him and refused to accept Him as the Messiah and King. Such a refusal will result in eternal judgment when they stand before the King they rejected.

This parable teaches us that we have been entrusted by the Lord with gifts to use. There are no specifics on spiritual gifts here; that will happen after the Holy Spirit comes at Pentecost. Even in Jesus’ time, however, the people would have been aware that they were to use what they had for the glory of God. Faithful use of what we have been given will be rewarded, while a refusal to use those gifts will be seen as rejection of the authority of the King. There is no believer who has not been entrusted with gifts to use for the sake of the kingdom, whether time, talents, or treasure. While we do not know what rewards might await those who are faithful, Jesus’ teaching here indicated there will be rewards for those who are faithful.

Those who oppose Jesus will suffer judgment, whether it is eternity in hell or simply the loss of rewards for those who believe but shirk their duties. Those who faithfully serve will be rewarded by the Lord in proportion to their service, as determined by Him (not by our human estimation). This parable is a warning to all of us that we are to serve the Lord willingly and faithfully.

What do we as Christians gain from serving the Lord? This is a question many ask themselves, whether before coming to Christ or as they live out their Christian life. Some even go so far as to propose that if they serve the Lord well He owes them a blessing. It is hard to keep from looking at our spiritual life along the lines of our natural life in this world. In our daily lives, we labor and are paid for it, whether in money, perks, material goods, prestige, or even a heartfelt “thank you.”

In Luke 17:7-10 Jesus speaks of the attitude we as servants of God should have regarding our labor. He uses the picture of servants who have labored in the fields all day coming into their master’s house and expecting the master to serve them. Jesus points out that this is not the way the relationship between a servant and master works in the world. Rather, when the servants come in from the field they have other jobs to do for the master before they take care of themselves. In this illustration, the master does not even thank the servants for their efforts, since they were just doing what was expected of them.

While this seems cold to us, if we are honest with ourselves we as laborers, whether for God or for our earthly bosses, don’t always do all that is expected of us. We have a job laid out for us, and we are expected to do what that job requires. We appreciate a “thank you” or a compliment, but whether or not we get them we need to complete our tasks. Although we generally have contracted for some kind of payment, either financial or some less material compensation, in the end doing our job is just doing what we agreed to do in the first place.

For Christians, there is something greater at play. We have no “contract” we have made with God, since we were rebel sinners who had nothing to offer Him. We are the beneficiaries of the “contract” between the Father and the Son; Jesus died for our sins, paying our debt, and the Father forgives those who place their faith and trust in Jesus. In a sense, we are paid for our labor for the Lord before we even become His servants. Our eternal life and the promise of heaven are given to us, a gift far beyond any earthly blessing the Lord could bestow upon us.

Instead of placing further demands on a God who owes us nothing and has given us everything, we need to develop a humble attitude in our service for Him. Whatever we are called to do, we must labor diligently to complete the task before us, and recognize when we complete it all we have done is our duty. There is no way to somehow earn extra credit with God; all we can do is fulfill our role as His servants. Like the servants in Jesus’ illustration, we can only say “we have only done what was our duty.”

This teaching speaks to our attitude toward the Lord, not the full story of our relationship with Him. We are not simply servants, but children of God through Jesus Christ. This is a great honor and blessing, but it must be balanced with our recognition that He owes us nothing, while we owe Him everything. We have received infinite blessings through the sacrifice of Christ, and we experience daily blessings from the Holy Spirit in us. These were not earned by us, but given by the mercy and grace of God. As we work for Jesus and His kingdom, serving in whatever capacity we are called, we should remember our position before the Lord both as His children and as His servants. People who stand in the presence of the Almighty do well to recognize who we are when compared to Him and to come before Him with a proper humility.

One of the great misconceptions many have about Christianity is that following Jesus is supposed to make your life easy. There are teachers and preachers who couch the call to come to Christ in terms that make it seem as if He is just waiting to satisfy all the desires of our human hearts. Some even claim that those who truly follow the Lord’s path for their life need never suffer from pain, poverty, or persecution. It’s a pitch designed to make the promises of Jesus and His Word fit into the way people think, without consideration for how our lives might change after an encounter with the Almighty God.

Now there is some truth in the statement that serving the Lord brings blessings into our lives, and that knowing Christ can make our daily existence here in earth easier to handle. These truths, however, must be balanced with what the Bible teaches about the life Christians should expect as they turn from the world to the Lord. Cherry-picking verses that promise one thing, especially if they are taken out of context, is not the way to prepare for the path of Christian discipleship. Certainly, Jesus never said that following Him would be easy.

In today’s reading, we find Jesus teaching on the cost of discipleship. He contrasts the attitude of the Pharisees and other Jewish leaders with the attitude He expects from His disciples. There was a kind of competition among the various classes of leaders as to who deserved the most honor, who would sit in the highest places, and who was worthy of praise and attention. Jesus scoffs at that idea, and warns them that efforts to make yourself stand higher than you do can instead bring shame, embarrassment, and even judgment. Serving God is not something er do on our own terms, but on His.

Jesus uses several illustrations to warn His disciples to count the cost before they commit to serving Him. He points out that human builders and human kings need to know what their project will cost them before they begin, whether they are building a tower or going to war. Failure to count the cost will lead to the failure of the project and the shame of the one who started it so carelessly. For the disciples of Jesus, there would be a cost to giving up what they knew to follow Him and, later, to proclaim Him to the world.

The demand of Jesus is stark. He calls His followers to carry their own cross to follow Him. The cross was a brutal and shameful form of execution, and any criminal sentenced to crucifixion would have to carry his cross to the place where he would die. Jesus, of course, would ultimately show the power of His words in taking His own cross on our behalf, but even here before His death the disciples would understand what He meant. Following Jesus costs us everything, including our selves.

As we seek to serve Jesus, we must remember that there is a cost to that service. Christianity isn’t an easy path to a self-fulfilled life; it is a challenging path to reach eternal life. There will be many blessings along the way, and we do not walk out path alone. Our Lord and the Spirit go with us through all the challenges, hardships, and blessings of this life. Our goal is not to become what we think we should be, but what God intends us to become through Christ.

Every day of our lives we need to be ready for the unexpected. This doesn’t just mean being prepared for big disasters like storms, floods, fires, and financial collapses. It means having plans in place if you get sick or injured, knowing what to do if your child gets sick at school, knowing how to change a tire, or any of a hundred other small emergencies that can happen. Life is hard enough when everything is going according to plan, so preparing yourself for those times when your plans break down is crucial.

In Luke 12 and 13 Jesus warns His disciples and other followers that they needed to be prepared not only for what could happen in this life, but in the next. Many people crowded around Jesus, curious as to what this rabbi had to say and what His plans were. There were some who saw Him as the Messiah and who expected immediate relief for the nation of Israel. Others, including political and religious leaders, saw Him as a threat to their situation and to the relative peace they had with Rome. Many were just looking for a diversion from their lives and found Jesus’ teachings to be a change from the ordinary. Some were looking for a miraculous touch, whether for healing or for the provision of their needs.

You might expect Jesus to provide people with assurance that He would keep their lives on a smooth path, helping them get over their immediate needs so they could find success on an earthly level. This is what a number of purportedly Christian teachers claim today; just follow them and God will take care of every need, and even many wants, you have. It isn’t surprising that people would seek comfort and relief in Jesus’ time, nor that many do so today.

This isn’t what Jesus promised to those who were listening on this occasion, however, He did promise they could have assurance of an eternity with the Lord and escape from the judgment of hell, but these were promises that would not- in fact, could not- be fulfilled in this life. Jesus pointed out that in this life there were many potential trials and tribulations people would go through, some due to the struggles of our earthly existence and some due to persecution by those opposed to us. While these situations would remain, Jesus told His followers to be prepared for them, and to have the right perspective on their struggles: look at what lies ahead in eternity rather than what we have here on earth.

Jesus stressed that we are to be prepared for whatever can happen in our lives. Whether it is knowing that unbelievers will seek to drag us down, those in power will attempt to create difficulties for us, or even that we could face persecution and death, our eyes need to remain fixed on eternity. It is God who provides an eternal place for us with Him, and we should be far more concerned to avoid His judgment than that of the world. Even now, as we go through our daily routines, we should be prepared for the return of Christ, ready enter eternity with Him rather than enjoy the fleeting pleasures of the world.

As we maintain that eternal perspective, we will indeed be prepared. Whether we go to be with Jesus by death or by His return, we know we can stand before Him forgiven and made holy through His blood. The threat of persecution may be with us for the moment, but the promise of an eternal home with Him can carry us through whatever life may being us now.

One of the obstacles Christians encounter when dealing with those outside the church is the impression many non-believers have of church attenders. They believe that people who regularly attend church think they are better than others, that they have a list of rules and regulations everyone must follow, that they look down on others as inferior to them, and that they are the ones who determine who is in good standing with God. While this is a misconception when applied broadly to Christians, it is sadly too accurate when it comes to certain people, groups, and even churches. It can be sorely tempting to think you have Christianity all figured out and that other people just can’t compare with your holiness.

Jesus had to deal with this attitude in His own time. As a Jew, Jesus held the Law in the highest esteem, and He followed the Law faithfully. That wasn’t enough for many of those who opposed His teaching, who felt that He was lax in His observance of the Law. Many groups, including the Pharisees, scribes, and teachers of the Law, had set up strict rules for what qualified as the “right” way to keep the Law. Their traditions and rules went beyond what the Mosaic Law stated, so it wasn’t enough in their sight to keep the Law; you had to keep it in a very carefully defined way or it didn’t count.

Here in Luke 11, Jesus is invited to dinner with a Pharisee. As Jesus enters the house and eats with the assembled guests, the Pharisee criticizes Jesus for not washing properly before eating. In blunt terms, Jesus responds by pointing out that adhering to the letter of their interpretation of the Law didn’t matter unless it was accompanied by a proper attitude of the heart. The internal intent of the one seeking to obey the Lord is more important than the mechanics of keeping a rule. While external obedience was valuable, it wasn’t genuine obedience without a proper heart for God.

Jesus didn’t disparage those who maintained strict obedience to the rules, and He did not advocate that Jews break the Law. Yet that was only part of what it meant to obey the Law, and you could go through the motions of obedience without yielding your heart to the Lord. The hypocrisy of the Pharisees and others was sharply rebuked by Jesus, and His listeners understood that He was criticizing them strongly. That criticism led to a widening of the rift between Jesus and the religious leaders of His time. It would not be long before the religious leaders had to make a choice: would they follow Jesus as the Messiah and Lord, or would they seek to silence Him permanently? The choice of many was to silence the Teacher who offended their standard.

Hypocrisy is still an unfortunate reality among many Christians today. There are those who like to make a show of following the rules as they see them, whether those rules are Biblical or not. If we’re honest, we probably all engage in this kind of behavior from time to time, expecting others to follow the precepts of Scripture while we ignore them ourselves. As we grow in our faith and our obedience to the Lord, may we also learn to leave behind that kind of double standard and find ways to relate to people so that they can come to Christ and learn to obey Him from the heart, not just from the rulebook.

When we read about Jesus’ earthly ministry, we tend to focus on all the things that He did. Jesus preached, taught, healed, performed miracles, and confronted those who opposed Him. Yet even as He took on all these tasks, Jesus didn’t minister alone. Part of what He did while He was here on earth was to find people and put them into places where they could serve. Even as the omnipotent Son of God Jesus brought others alongside Him to prepare for an even greater impact on the world than He, in His human state, could have alone.

We see two groups mentioned in today’s readings who assisted Jesus with His ministry as He travelled around Galilee. The first group was a number of women who had been touched by Jesus and His ministry. They had been freed from demonic possession and healed from diseases. Mary Magdalene would play a prominent role in spreading the news of the Resurrection. Joanna had a connection to the household of Herod, the king who would help send Jesus to the cross. Susanna is the only other one named, but there were a number of women who provided for the Jesus and His disciples.

This was not an easy responsibility to take on. They were providing from their own means, and even if they were women from well-to-do families this would be costly. They also would have risked their reputations by travelling around with a group of men to whom they were not related. None of that mattered to these women; they wanted to serve the Lord who had so graciously helped them, and to allow His ministry with His disciples to reach more people who could be helped.

The other group is the Twelve. This was a hand-picked band of men chosen by Jesus to travel with

Him and learn from Him. They were not men who had served as religious leaders or as political figures. Most whose jobs we know were everyday laborers like fishermen. There was a tax collector in the group, and a Zealot who wanted to rebel against Rome. Most were Galileans, with Judas of Kerioth the exception. It was not a group of men who would inspire much confidence in the upper levels of society, but they were willing to follow Jesus when called.

This calling led them to follow the Lord, to spend time listening to His teaching, to learn about the importance of ministering to others, and to prepare for the coming of Jesus’ kingdom. It would be a long time before they got the message straight, and it probably wasn’t until after the Resurrection that they truly understood. Here in today’s passage, however, we see them sent out by Jesus, and finding that their ministry was successful. They did things they could scarcely have imagined in their life prior to meeting Jesus, and they saw results that helped the kingdom to grow.

We may believe that we are just ordinary people, nothing special, and perhaps burdened with struggles that prevent us from serving the Lord. When we come to Jesus, He is able to free  us from whatever is holding us back, and to find a place of service for us. We can change our lives by following Him, taking time to learn from Jesus and His Word, ministering to those around us in need, and faithfully proclaiming the gospel of His kingdom. Like Jesus’ disciples, we may not come from the ranks of the very religious or the halls of human authority. Instead, we will find that those who listen to the calling of Christ and willingly serve Him will have the power to point our world to the Savior and Lord they so desperately need.

One of the dangers Christians face in trying to live for Christ is determining what it takes to live an obedient life. We have the principle laid down in God’s Word, and many of them are clear, making it easy to know when we have kept them and when we have violated them. Many others are not as simple to figure out, and keeping them may involve some thought on our part. Sometimes that is a matter of definition, perhaps within a cultural context. Other times it may be looking at the wording of the precept and determining what it actually means. The fact that the Bible was written in a different time by people using a different language and living in a different world also can become a barrier to an easy understanding of God’s laws. This is why we study the Bible, learning about its cultural, linguistic, and historical contexts. We do not want to miss obeying the Lord, nor do we want to require people to obey what is not commanded by God. Both are misapplications of the Word.

The Pharisees often overapplied the Law, finding in the most minute and obscure circumstances elements that might indicate a failure to keep the Law. To their credit, this may have begun in order to set safe boundaries around obedience, so that people wouldn’t even come close to breaking the Law. Over time, however, the human rules around the Law came to be seen as just as important as what Moses wrote. Human traditions were elevated to a place next to God’s Word. This may not have been the intention, but it was the result.

Jesus and His disciples ran into this in our passage today. In Luke 6:1-11, they ran into some Pharisees while picking and eating grain from a field on the Sabbath. Taking the grain was not an issue, since the traditional interpretation of the Law allowed people to take what they needed to eat if they walked through a field. The Pharisees objected to the disciples doing this on the Sabbat day, the day of rest set aside by God. By their rules, picking and rubbing the grain was work forbidden on that day. Jesus pointed out the Biblical example of David, who ate the showbread that was reserved for the priests alone. He than made the claim that “the Son of Man is the Lord of the Sabbath,” claiming that He had the right to determine what was and was not obedience to the Law.

On another Sabbath, Jesus found the scribes and the Pharisees watching Him to see if He would heal a man on the Sabbath. Given that there was no particular law against healing, this was strictly a matter of their rules around the Law. Jesus’ question here was pointed, and revealed the condition of His opponent’s hearts. They would rather maintain their own rules than to see someone healed. Such an attitude showed that their true attitude toward God and His Law was just a way to be used to impress others with their holiness while looking down on those less strict than they.

In both cases, Jesus’ answers to His opponents gave us a principle to remember in our own efforts to obey God’s Word. We must always do what is commanded in Scripture, but we must be careful not to make the Word say more than it does. Spiritual maturity does not come from obeying a long list of rules complied by people, but from learning and living the truth that the Spirit guides us into through the Word. When we truly live for the Lord, we will learn and know what we should an should not do, and draw closer to Him and His way each day.

People find it hard to subject themselves to the authority of others. Whether it is their boss at work, a parent at home, a government official, or a religious leader, people are suspicious that the person in charge. Some of that may be due to our human nature, which wants to stay in control of our lives ourselves. Some may be a fear that no one else can possibly know what is best for us. The biggest thing that holds us back, however, may be the question of finding the right authority, someone worthy of our trust and in whom we can have confidence in their ability to help us and their power to do so.

The people of Galilee in Jesus’ time had issues with authority. They were under the rule of Rome, who appeared to be more interested in their own power than in helping their subject peoples. In their religion, they were under the authority of the priests in Jerusalem, who sought their own gain rather than the benefit of the people. Even in the synagogues, there were some wo set themselves up as the truly devout ones, the keepers of the Law supreme, who placed increasing burdens on the people.

When Jesus came to the city of Capernaum, He went into the synagogue and began to teach. This had been His practice since He began His earthly ministry, and Jesus had already tight in other cities, including His hometown of Nazareth. Many questioned who this unknown rabbi was, and in some places, notably Nazareth, He was rejected and His teaching ignored. In Capernaum, the people were amazed by His teaching, and unlike many other places they recognized that Jesus had authority.

This authority can be seen as your read through the Gospels, and it came from the way Jesus spoke on His own rather than the common rabbinic practice of citing other authorities. To drive home His authority, Jesus demonstrated that He had command over the demon that possessed a man who came to the synagogue one day. The demon acknowledged who Jesus was and admitted that He had authority over demons. Such a display of power confirmed the authority of Jesus, and the people saw clearly that this was someone to whom they should listen.

Jesus continued to demonstrate His power outside the synagogue, healing people and casting out more demons. The authority He demonstrated was seen and accepted by the people, who had been looking for someone who could show both the power and the care that they needed. In a world of oppressive and selfish authorities, Jesus came as One who had compassion of the people and who could meet their deepest needs. This is what attracted those in Capernaum to Him, and they willingly accepted His authority rather than being forced to accept it.

Today, we have in the record of Scripture and in the testimony of many throughout history a witness to the authority of Jesus. While He has the power to force people to accept Him, He gives humanity the opportunity to come to Him and recognize His authority over them. By willingly submitting to Him as our Lord and recognizing Him as our only Savior, we can be brought into His kingdom and His family, and when we have entered we will find that in Jesus our needs will be mat and our eternity secured.