Christ Jesus becomes your Lord when you believe he died for your sins, choose to abandon those sins, seek his forgiveness and agree to surrender to his Lordship in everything and concerning every aspect of your entire life. Jesus Christ will not force you, but if you deliberately choose your own way in opposition to his Word as recorded in the BIBLE, thereby refusing to allow him divine control of your life, you will not at the same time claim to be a true Christian and follower of the Lord Jesus Christ. He is either Lord of your whole life or not Lord at all. Your faith in Christ commands total commitment to him --not just engagement in various forms of service unto him, instead entire devotion and love for Christ Jesus HIMSELF is required. Admittedly, you will also be heartily rendering service unto God through various aspects of his work, such as serving within the church and commitment to the multi-dimensional cause of expanding his Kingdom on the earth. You will also need to apply yourself to continuously grow in grace, in the knowledge of the word of GOD and in closeness with the Lord. This necessary spiritual growth you will assuredly be experiencing, even as you continue in Christ's teachings, in sound doctrine and in your pursuit of Christ as your Master and King. As the Sacred Scriptures have declared: "Draw near unto God and he will draw nigh unto you."