S
There are so many things that distract us from realizing our Father’s loving presence. Practical life and “responsibilities” constantly compete for our affection. “You shall have no other gods before Me.” What does this mean? What does it mean to have a “god” before the One true God? Could it be that the things we prioritize our affections in are the very things we have elevated to this status?
What does it mean to give God His proper place? Is it not that He alone should consume our thought processes and be placed first above any other responsibility? “Seek first His Kingdom and His righteousness…” I ponder the words written to the Colossians, “Set not your affections upon the things of earth…” (Col. 3:1-2). Yet so many of us remain in the realm of unstable alternative reality, captivated by the illusion of practical life and a collage of responsibilities that society has allowed to be conjured up on behalf of the kingdom of man.
Who are we taught by and where do we learn a reality that differs from God’s? Is it not those who represent life to us as we grow? We learn from parents, teachers, bosses, fellow peers, and even social media. We spend our lives trying to measure up to that which is deemed to be acceptable. What do we offer this world? Many of us are only called upon because of functionality. We are “good” at doing something. The world around us is based upon performance. No wonder why so many of us believe that salvation depends upon a particular set of scripture fulfillment. So many of us believe that the teaching of Christ are guidelines for us to aspire to live out and fail to realize that His teachings are nothing more than a description of the Life His birth in us will bring. The teaching of Christ is for the Life that God put into each of us, not for each of us to try and stack up to and be. Godliness is a culture, not aspirations sought by human effort.
While reflecting upon my conduct over the last week, I questioned what had happened to my reckless abandonment to Christ. In the place where God’s Love should have been found was nothing but my own formulations and opinions about those around me. Just as Peter had entered into hypocrisy with the Jews of his time (as described by Paul), so I found myself not being far off from the same. Now I understand what Jesus meant when He said, “Anyone who would come after me and does not hate his father, mother, wife, children, yes, even his own life he cannot be my disciple.”
I never want to be counted among those of whom the prophet Isaiah wrote, “These people honour Me with their lips but their hearts are far from Me. Their teachings are but the doctrine of men…” Where is our affection? Can Christ Love those around us as He so longs to by way of His temple? I wonder how much longer it will be before we realize that we not really loving people around us, rather it is Christ alone. But what about “Love your enemies…” where does this fit in? When we realize that the person we consider an “enemy” is nothing more than an alternative version of someone created in Christ, it becomes easy to love. “…Christ is all and is in all…” (Col. 3:11). So now we should no longer regard anyone from a “worldly” perspective, rather, from Christ’s perspective (2 Co. 5:16). “…Be transformed by the renewing of your mind…” who loves them. Likewise, loving from the heart means that God allows us to see the image of God within those whom we love. We are to love
May we abandon everything for the sake of Christ and may His life in us be our only reality as we witness what He does with the hands we once thought to be our own. To Him be the glory forever… Amen.
What does it mean to give God His proper place? Is it not that He alone should consume our thought processes and be placed first above any other responsibility? “Seek first His Kingdom and His righteousness…” I ponder the words written to the Colossians, “Set not your affections upon the things of earth…” (Col. 3:1-2). Yet so many of us remain in the realm of unstable alternative reality, captivated by the illusion of practical life and a collage of responsibilities that society has allowed to be conjured up on behalf of the kingdom of man.
Who are we taught by and where do we learn a reality that differs from God’s? Is it not those who represent life to us as we grow? We learn from parents, teachers, bosses, fellow peers, and even social media. We spend our lives trying to measure up to that which is deemed to be acceptable. What do we offer this world? Many of us are only called upon because of functionality. We are “good” at doing something. The world around us is based upon performance. No wonder why so many of us believe that salvation depends upon a particular set of scripture fulfillment. So many of us believe that the teaching of Christ are guidelines for us to aspire to live out and fail to realize that His teachings are nothing more than a description of the Life His birth in us will bring. The teaching of Christ is for the Life that God put into each of us, not for each of us to try and stack up to and be. Godliness is a culture, not aspirations sought by human effort.
While reflecting upon my conduct over the last week, I questioned what had happened to my reckless abandonment to Christ. In the place where God’s Love should have been found was nothing but my own formulations and opinions about those around me. Just as Peter had entered into hypocrisy with the Jews of his time (as described by Paul), so I found myself not being far off from the same. Now I understand what Jesus meant when He said, “Anyone who would come after me and does not hate his father, mother, wife, children, yes, even his own life he cannot be my disciple.”
I never want to be counted among those of whom the prophet Isaiah wrote, “These people honour Me with their lips but their hearts are far from Me. Their teachings are but the doctrine of men…” Where is our affection? Can Christ Love those around us as He so longs to by way of His temple? I wonder how much longer it will be before we realize that we not really loving people around us, rather it is Christ alone. But what about “Love your enemies…” where does this fit in? When we realize that the person we consider an “enemy” is nothing more than an alternative version of someone created in Christ, it becomes easy to love. “…Christ is all and is in all…” (Col. 3:11). So now we should no longer regard anyone from a “worldly” perspective, rather, from Christ’s perspective (2 Co. 5:16). “…Be transformed by the renewing of your mind…” who loves them. Likewise, loving from the heart means that God allows us to see the image of God within those whom we love. We are to love
May we abandon everything for the sake of Christ and may His life in us be our only reality as we witness what He does with the hands we once thought to be our own. To Him be the glory forever… Amen.