06/13/2023
Have we truly abandoned ourselves to Jesus? Is He the source of our life's energies, or do we simply vocalize His name so that we can feel good about our faith, and appear righteous before others?
“And Jesus said unto them, Come ye after me, and I will make you to become fishers of men.”
Mark 1:17 KJV
Jesus desires us to not only open our lives to Him, but to give them totally over to Him. The notion that we can be, and do, the things He has planned for us by simply performing religious acts finds itself lacking. When we do this we are like actors who put on a play by simply reading the script. Jesus wants to direct each movement and perfect our every inflection and line to be pleasing to the Father. He wishes for our sincerity to reach a crescendo in everything we do; not just in our spiritual lives, but in every breath we take.
“And when thou prayest, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites are: for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward.”
Matthew 6:5 KJV
Giving ourselves fully to Jesus means that we strive first and foremost to please God... wasn't that the essence of Christ’s life? Wasn't that the method by which He accomplished the mission He came to perform? He wasn't here to please and serve us alone. Jesus spoke of serving, but as He spoke of serving, He alluded to the fact that He served God; let's read:
“But so shall it not be among you: but whosoever will be great among you, shall be your minister: And whosoever of you will be the chiefest, shall be servant of all. For even the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many.”
Mark 10:43-45 KJV
When we realize why Jesus came, and who sent Him, we begin to understand that His service might have been to us, but it was first and foremost to the Father. He loved us, but He loved the Heavenly Father above all else. His life was given over fully to the will of God, and in this consecration He was used beyond our wildest dreams. So it is with us when we consecrate our lives. We find that God uses us in ways that are beyond our ability to fathom, He brings our faith to crescendo, and suddenly we find His hand, peace, and joy in every corner of our lives.
So let’s search ourselves.. are we praying on the street in exhibition, or are we praying in our closet where our faith is given over solely to God? We pray in public to edifying one another, but the real work is done in prayer closets all around the world. In solitude with Him the Great Director gives us private lessons that perfect the performance of our lives. As Christians we spend a great deal of time on the second great commandment of Jesus "love thy neighbor as thyself", but to get there we read right past the greatest...
“And one of the scribes came, and having heard them reasoning together, and perceiving that he had answered them well, asked him, which is the first commandment of all? And Jesus answered him, the first of all the commandments is, Hear, O Israel; The Lord our God is one Lord: And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment.”
Mark 12:28-30 KJV
Is our life given over to Jesus and The Father, or do we perform religion in service to our own selves? Do we pray quietly in our closet for the healing of the sick, or do we stand where all can see and put on a performance? When God answers prayer do we adorn ourselves with a holy expression and take credit for His work, or do we go to our grave knowing secretly that God was great in that act? The things we do in secret bring us great faith, and that faith, even from the quiet recesses of our being, perfects in us everything that the world sees when it looks into our faces.
Consecrating our lives to Jesus doesn't mean consecrating our lives to Jesus for all men to see. Being called to preach, teach, and prophesy, require an open expression of faith, but for the bulk of saints, and indeed for the greatest part of those aforementioned callings, the work of God is private and personal in nature. How can we give our lives totally to Jesus and then spend so much of it proclaiming our own sanctity?
Prayer:
Father, we thank you for the time we spend praying with others, and before the congregation, but we thank you most of all for those times when you don't send us out into the world, but call us to a quiet place where we speak alone with you. Lord, we are challenged in our faith when we stand before the crowd and do your bidding. We wrestle within ourselves when others look to us, and when we know they truly need you. Father, self-gratification is a temptation that can draw down the unity of our spirit with yours. The temptation to claim your glory is often painful and hard to deal with... it is the angel we wrestle with every time we pray openly; it is the Isaac that we suffer over as we lay it on the alter. Give us strength Father that we will have a peace of spirit while serving you. Give us victory over ourselves as we yield all to you.
Rich Forbes