Devotional 080709

Dear brothers and sisters,
Good morning. There is no better title than to be the follower of Christ and the Child of God. It makes the whole world difference when we meditate on our relationship with the Triune God. We don’t need to do anything to prove that we are worthy to be His child. We just need to draw close to Him, and we will hear him whisper to our ears, “You are always my beloved child!”

“Why were you searching for me?" he asked. "Didn't you know I had to be in my Father's house?” (Luke 2:49) Our Lord's childhood was not immature man-hood; our Lord's childhood is an eternal fact. Am I a holy innocent child of God by identification with my Lord and Savior? Do I look upon life as being in my Father's house? Is the Son of God living in His Father's house in me?

The abiding Reality is God, and His order comes through the moments. Am I always in contact with Reality, or do I only pray when things have gone wrong, when there is a disturbance in the moments of my life? I have to learn to identify myself with my Lord in Holy Communion in ways some of us have not begun to learn as yet. "I must be about My Father's business" - live the moments in My Father's house.

Narrow it down to your individual circumstances - are you so identified with the Lord's life that you are simply a child of God, continually talking to Him and realizing that all things come from His hands? Is the Eternal Child in you living in the Father's house? Are the graces of His ministering life working out through you in your home, in your business, in your domestic circle? Have you been wondering why you are going through the things you are? It is not that you have to go through them; it is because of the relation into which the Son of God has come in His Father's providence in your particular sainthood. Let Him have His way, keep in perfect union with Him.

The sensational life of your Lord is to become your vital simple life; the way He worked and lived among men must be the way He lives in you. Jesus came to demonstrate the kind of life God desires for men to live. It is a life that engages in daily chores or business, but enjoys communion with the Creator God. Paul reminded the early Christians, “Slaves, obey your earthly masters with respect and fear, and with sincerity of heart, just as you would obey Christ. Obey them not only to win their favor when their eye is on you, but like slaves of Christ, doing the will of God from your heart. Serve wholeheartedly, as if you were serving the Lord, not men… And masters, treat your slaves in the same way. Do not threaten them, since you know that he who is both their Master and yours is in heaven, and there is no favoritism with him” (Eph 6:5-7, 9). Paul did not challenge the unfair social system of his time. Instead he focused on how individual Christian should do his daily chores or business, in the light of his or her new relationship with Christ.

God will not change our job or role in society, even when we draw close to Him each day. He promises to deliver us from the bondage of our sins, our self-centeredness or narcissistic mindset, our inferiority complex, our hatred, our worry and our fear. God has promised to give us a new heart, “I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws” (Ezekiel 36:26-27). One of the key characteristics of this new heart is the desire to obey the Words of God and to enjoy His presence.

Love you with this new heart from Christ,
Lawrence