03/01/2019
Do you desire to please the Father and Son in all you do, or is your motive one of self gratification? Are your efforts designed to secure a beautiful eternity for yourself, or to make eternity a pleasurable paradise for God? Sometimes we seek the right things for the wrong reasons... how do you approach your faith?
“Awake, O north wind, and come, O south wind! Blow upon my garden, let its spices flow. Let my beloved come to his garden, and eat its choicest fruits.”
The Song of Solomon 4:16 ESV
This scripture has three distinct parts; the first follows a wonderful description of the orchard in King Solomon’s garden and speaks to the wind blowing the fragrances of the trees, and the fruits they bear, so that the aroma will please his loved one. The second is that he wants his beloved to come to his garden and enjoy it, and then, for the final portion, we hear Solomon’s love’s voice as she wants him to join her there and partake of the best fruits.
Although this book as a whole is full of love, seductive language, and is sexually provocative, there are often secondary currents running through it. This verse is an example of how we are to view our faith, it’s fruit, and our desire for Jesus Christ. Solomon’s garden and orchard are like our own garden of faith... full of beauty but also the taste and fragrance of our fruit that grows within it. The fruit of our faith is meant to be satisfying, appealing, and inviting to Jesus, and the wind is synonymous to our prayers which carry the fragrance to Him, and finally, once there with us we should want Him to partake of those fruits with us.
The fruit of our faith is not meant for us alone, if we grow our garden to sustain ourselves then there is no need for wind to blow their fragrance other than to bring ourselves glory, and when we hold a peach in our hand to eat it... there is no need for another to join us as we enjoy its taste, other than to arouse jealousy in them.
“"And when you pray, you must not be like the hypocrites. For they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, that they may be seen by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward.”
Matthew 6:5 ESV
Our desire should be that we receive our reward in heaven, and to love and serve the Lord with all our heart while in this place. If we do those things that appear righteous to advance ourself in the world, then we have taken the reward that God wishes to bestow on us as appreciation for our efforts, and turned it into a wage instead, and wages are paid in worldly script.
“And he said to all, "If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it. For what does it profit a man if he gains the whole world and loses or forfeits himself?”
Luke 9:23-25 ESV
Have you run across those of “faith” that put on a sanctimonious display of it? Have you watched as a pastor stood in the pulpit, and preached a sermon steeped in piety with his chest puffed out? Have you confessed your sins to another as you sought contrition, only to have that person make you feel less than they are, and beyond God’s mercy and grace? We need to be constantly on guard as we use the fruit that God has given us, we must use it in such a way that it serves Him... and not us.
“Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward. You are serving the Lord Christ.”
Colossians 3:23-24 ESV
A couple shows up at church one Sunday and in a short while takes on janitorial service around the building. They are unassuming, and when something is spilled on the floor others call on them to clean it up, often with a tone of aloofness in their voices. One day after having just engaged in such an encounter with them the church accountant was going through the church’s ledgers and discovered that this couple each month gave more to the church financially than many others combined. When he approached them about this he found that they were among the most wealthy families in their city. The husband then said to him... “which embarrassed you most, that you mistreated us when you thought we were poor, or that now you want to make amends because we are wealthy?”
Where do we receive our reward? Where is our heart? Do we grow our fruit as a gift of treasure for God, or to build up our own house so that others might see it as if it were our righteousness? Where is our heart, and do we receive a reward or a wage for serving?
“For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”
Matthew 6:21 ESV
Prayer:
Father, thank you for your many blessings, and the gifts you bestow upon us so that we might better do your will. Thank you Holy Father for leading us into a spirit of humility so that we never see ourselves above another. We are all your children Merciful Father, and we thank you equally regardless of the value that the world places on the gifts you have given. Help us Lord to place the same value on the souls that surround us that you do. Teach us Gracious Lord that our treasure is either accumulated in heaven for eternity, or placed in lock boxes here on earth where it will be lost and abandoned forever at our death. Let the sum of our earthly fortune be converted into heavenly currency based not on what we have, but on what we have shared secretly in service to you, and your will. Holy, Holy, Holy, are you our God who gives freely to us out of His goodness and without regard to the value that the world places on those gifts. Praised be your name, and glorious are you in your grace that flows free to us. We worship you Lord, and lift up secret prayers to you... now and forevermore.
Rich Forbes