A Great Beginning
Matthew 18:1-4 At the same time came the disciples unto Jesus, saying, Who is the greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven? And Jesus called a little child unto Him, and set him in the midst of them, And said, Verily I say unto you, Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the Kingdom of Heaven. Whosoever therefore shall humble himself as this little child, the same is greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven.
When you first came to Jesus, did you begin with humility? Perhaps, you came to an end of yourself, and found you were incapable of perfection after all. Perfection actually is a prerequisite to enter into the Kingdom of God. Perfection is a sinless life. Pride steeped in self-deception kept people from admitting their shortcomings -their sin. So much so, we needed Holy Spirit to convict us of it (see John 16:7-11).
Upon realizing you were a sinner; did you feel like a little child all over again? You didn’t quite feel all that grown up. When you changed positions, that is to say, moved from being a child of the devil to a child of God, did you experience the glee of young child who just opened up a present? Did gratitude flood the very fiber of your being? Suddenly, your hands raised like a little child who wanted to be scooped up into the loving arms of ABBA (Daddy).
As He smothered you in His love, devotion rose up in your heart. No longer caught up in the bondage of sin and the fear of retribution. Instead, pure sweet devotion to your new First Love. Finally, you experienced a love that could never be earned. It was freely given to you, though it cost God everything. You are free from jumping through the hoops in order earn love. All by His grace, through faith, based upon HIS LOVE!
This is the experience of many. They start out with a giddiness of a child. They can’t wait to spend time with the Lord. Prayer is a privileged joy. There’s an excitement about sharing with others their new found faith, by which they can be saved. They want everyone to know Jesus. Nothing forced. All natural as the result of their new nature. What a great beginning.
How did Devotion Turn to Bondage?
Galatians 3:1-4 O foolish Galatians, who hath bewitched you, that ye should not obey the truth, before whose eyes Jesus Christ hath been evidently set forth, crucified among you? This only would I learn of you, Received ye the Spirit by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith? Are ye so foolish? having begun in the Spirit, are ye now made perfect by the flesh? Have ye suffered so many things in vain? if it be yet in vain.
Back in the day, the Galatians were being brought into bondage by Judaizers who convinced many of them they needed to follow the Law of Moses in order to maintain salvation. Basically, teaching them a different gospel, which is not the Gospel. They moved from walking in the Spirit to walking in the flesh. Some of this takes place today.
Maybe, we’re not so much dealing with others trying to get us to follow the Law of Moses in the way they did back in the early days. However, to various degrees new believers find themselves influenced by others who turned faith into works. They call them works of faith; but, it’s actually another form of bondage. To be fair, there’s nothing nefarious behind it for the most part. In fact, their intentions are admirable.
In some cases, they give new believers a list of dos and don’ts, sprinkled with a bunch of shoulds. In short, they move them from faith to following a bunch of rules. If you become a rule-follower, you will find yourself less capable of being Spirit-led. Let’s make this super simple: if you are led by Holy Spirit, you don’t have to worry about the rules. You’ll be in sync with the heart of God (see Galatians 5:16-18).
Another way to move into bondage is to make it about the devotion, instead of Him. Jesus had a regular habit of spending time alone with God, but it was purely relational. He wanted to spend time with ABBA, Father, so He met regularly with Him. He didn’t make the devotion requisite for holiness. He was and is already holy. Hmmm. What’s the point?
The point is we can turn our devotion into a work, by which we feel holy. It can become a point of pride if we’re not careful. Moreover, if we fail to meet the criteria of said devotion, we can feel less than holy. For instance, let’s say I get up at a particular time every morning to meet with the Lord. One day, I wake up late, and have to get out the door to make it to work on time. I missed that devotion time with God, and for the rest of the day I feel like a heathen as a result. I might even find myself constantly apologizing to God for missing it. “I repent!”
Wait a minute, I thought being in Jesus is the basis of our righteousness and holiness; not what we do or don’t do. It’s about the relationship. Surely, we can be in communion with Him throughout the day; regardless, of how we start our day. That’s not to say don’t have your time of devotion; rather, don’t place yourself in bondage to it. By the way, if it becomes a point of pride, it can manifest in all kinds of self-righteous ways. Can you say, “sanctimonious?”
To simplify things: enter into His rest by ceasing from your own works. Let Him lead you, and the devotion with follow. In fact, that is the definition of devotion.
