One disciple said, “If you live a life of Krishna Consciousness, Krishna says that when you leave your body, if you think of him, you will achieve bliss.” Krishna believes that the best way to liberate the soul from the body (which is as close as Hindus ever come to the Christian concept of salvation) is by devotion and in particular, the Hare Krishna chants.

Through Harrison’s “My Sweet Lord”, devotees endeavored to “drop out” of the world of reality. Through the Lord Jesus Christ who “dropped in” to our world at the incarnation at Bethlehem we can come into the reality of abundant life and heaven. Who is your Sweet Lord?

The other day a young man that I was having a conversation with became excited about a Corvette Stingray that happened to pass by. He remarked how sweet the car was. “Sweet” is a term of endearment. “How sweet it is”, one might say of a special event, experience, object, or a dessert. We might even call that special person a “Sweetheart”. Sweet could be defined a pleasant, attractive, charming, working easily or smoothly, dear or darling, or having a pleasant taste or smell.

Jonathan Edwards, one of the greatest revivalists and theologians of the eighteenth century, had as his favorite description of his Lord, the word sweet. Christ was truly his sweet Lord.

The classic children’s Christmas carol “Away in the Manger”, describes the wonder of the incarnation when God clothed himself with humanity. Christ came to show us the Father. “Away in the manger, no crib for a bed, the little Lord Jesus laid down His sweet head; the stars in the sky looked down where He lay, the little Lord Jesus, asleep on the hay. Be near me Lord Jesus, I ask thee to stay close by me forever and love me, I pray; Bless all the dear children in thy tender care and take us to heaven, to live with thee there.”

Harrison’s “My Sweet Lord” Krishna has evolved into a pale imitation of Jesus Christ. Krishna’s liberation is a “Liberation from”, not a liberation to. It is liberation from yourself. Everything you need to be saved from is declared by Krishna to be an illusion. The chief problem of the world today is what the Bible calls – sin. To the Hindu, sin is caused by ignorance; “once ignorance is removed, man is restored to oneness with God”. But Christianity says that sin is caused by man’s own willfulness. Krishna says that man can save himself; Christianity says than man needs outside help – a Savior.

Two thousand years ago, God sent an angel to give the birth announcement of our sweet Lord. “Fear not; for I bring you good tidings of great joy. For unto you is born this day in the city of David, a Savior, which is Christ the Lord” (Luke 2:8-20).

He is our sweet Lord because Isaiah prophesied of Him as “Wonderful, Counselor, the Mighty God, the Everlasting Father, and the Prince of Peace” (Isaiah 9:6).

Charles Sprugeon, of the nineteenth century, who was referred to as the prince of preachers expressed his passion for Jesus. “Trace the course of the Savior’s life, and all throughout He is wonderful. Isn’t it marvelous that He submitted to the taunts and jeers of His enemies – that He allowed His accusers to surround Him, like dogs encircling Him? Isn’t it amazing that He bridled His anger when blasphemy was uttered against His sacred person? Had you or I possessed His matchless might, we might have dashed our enemies down the brow of the hill. We probably would never have submitted to the shame and spitting. No, we would have looked at them, and with one fierce look of wrath, dashed their spirits into eternal torment.

“But He bore it all, keeping His noble spirit – the Lion of the Tribe of Judah, but bearing still the lamb-like character. The humble man before His foes a weary man, and full of woes. Jesus of Nazareth was the King of Heaven and yet He was a Poor, despised, persecuted, slandered man. While I believe it, I never can understand it. I bless Him for it, love Him for it, I desire to praise His name forever for His infinite willingness to suffer for me. But I can never pretend to understand it. His name must all His life long be called ‘Wonderful’.”

Jesus is Sweet lord because He is Lord. He not only died on the cross as a sacrifice for the sins of the world, He arose from the dead victorious over death, hell, and the grave. One day “every knee shall bow and every tongue shall confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father” (Philippians 2:11).

Is Jesus your Sweet Lord? “If you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus, and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you shall be saved” (Romans 10:9, 10).