by Craig Mayes on May 12th, 2011

This morning I met with a group of guys at a restaurant near the Rockefeller Center to hear Tim Keller teach. The guys meet every other Thursday morning and have different teachers every week. The “menu” is self-serve coffee, bagel and OJ, all for a Manhattan bargain price of only $20. I know that the $20 pays for the venue- a nice French Restaurant, I am told, during the dinner hour. But it is still hard to fork over the $20. At the same time ,this morning, as is usually the case, the spiritual food offered by Tim made the price, and the expensive bagel, easier to swallow.

The subject this morning was the biblical teaching on God’s jealousy- that he is a jealous God. And while it was all good- I couldn’t take notes fast enough and it has given me much to think about, there is one thing he shared that I know I will not forget for the rest of my life. This gem didn’t actually come from Tim.  It came from a teacher he heard when he was 20 years old- a long time ago. But it has stuck with him all through the years.

Hebrews 1 reveals Jesus as the who created all that exists, and who even now holds it all together:

In the past God spoke to our forefathers through the prophets at many times and in various ways, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom he made the universe. The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word…

Jesus, with just a word, sustains all things. All things. The billions of stars. All the galaxies. With a word. It’s like, shared Tim, Jesus can maintain the universe with his pinky. That’s how great, how awesome, how powerful, how unimaginable he is.

Then came the question Tim never forgot, and I’ll never forget, and I’m betting you’ll never forget.

Since this is the case about Jesus, is he someone you invite into your life to be an “assistant”?

Let’s see. If he is able to manage all of creation, then maybe he has a bit more to offer my life than assisting me, advising me, helping me when I get stuck. Maybe it makes more sense to put him in charge of everything. To relegate Jesus to any other role than CEO of my life is to greatly diminish what he has to offer me. It would be (has been!) utterly stupid to place Jesus in an advisory role, calling in him at my convenience. Here he is, directing the universe, and here I am treating him like a temp employee who’s skill and know-how come in handy when needed.

I’ve lived long enough to know that a message, even a great one like Tim’s this morning, does not in and of itself produce lasting life change. But it can be a catalyst.  As I walked past St Patrick’s Cathedral on Park and 5^th, I laughed out load (which no one noticed, what with all the people on the streets talking to themselves) at how ludicrous it is to assign Jesus to a role other than what is rightly his- to take full control of my life. And it has motivated me to live gladly in full surrender to him. As complex as I think my life is to manage at times, I’m pretty certain it’s an easy thing for the One who is currently sustaining all things by his word.