Don's Devotionals: Learning to love God

2 Corinthians 2:14  But thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumphal procession in Christ and through us spreads everywhere the fragrance of the knowledge of him.

Our youngest son Michael was born with an artistic gift.  Even when he was little he could draw beautifully.  I describe him as having the eye of an artist.  After serving in the army, he joined the National Guard so that he could be trained in Broadcast Journalism.  He wanted to become a videographer – one who makes videos.  That was his job in the Guard.

Good videography requires technical competence.  It’s not just taking videos and splicing them together. It is producing a product that accomplishes its intended purpose.  The quality and attractiveness of the video produced depends upon the skill and technical excellence of the one producing it.  But here is where Michael had a real advantage.  He brought the eye of an artist to his trade.

This artistic gift affected everything that he did in the process:  camera angles, shots taken, lighting, what to include or exclude, music, editing, how things are put together.   This enabled him to produce videos that stood out and received recognition.  They have an inherent attractiveness because they combined art and technical skill.  The resulting product has an attractive ‘fragrance’, if you will that art or technical skill by themselves couldn’t produce.  Michael’s generals and others noted the excellence of his work.

This illustration of the importance of artistic gift + technical competence has a wonderful parallel in our Christian life.  The gift is the life of Christ within us.  It affects everything about us and particularly how we view everything.  The technical skill component is walking in His ways.  We have the Holy Spirit within us motivating and enabling us to learn from God’s Word how to do it.  The more we walk in His ways, the greater this component becomes – the more Christlike we become.  Without this, excellence is not produced.

Whereas Michael produced excellent videos; we are to produce lives of excellence.  People watch us just like they do videos.  What are they going to notice and remember?  If we truly and seriously commit ourselves to Christ and His transforming work in our lives, we will spread the wonderful fragrance of the knowledge of Jesus wherever we go.

Acts 5:8-9  Peter asked her, “Tell me, is this the price you and Ananias got for the land?”   “Yes,” she said, “that is the price.”  ⁹ Peter said to her, “How could you agree to test the Spirit of the Lord? Look! The feet of the men who buried your husband are at the door, and they will carry you out also.”

Picture this situation:  A little kid has been told to stay out of the cookies.  He comes into the room and his mother asks him, “Did you get into the cookies?”  With jam and crumbs all over his mouth, he says, “No I didn’t.”  It is both funny and serious.  Funny, in that the little kid doesn’t realize the truth is evident on his face; and serious in that he knows he did something wrong and is trying to cover it up.

Unfortunately, if the lying isn’t dealt with, it will lead to him learning to wipe the jam and crumbs off his mouth before he leaves the cookies.  It becomes ‘easier’ to hide his lying.  As he grows older the questions become more serious:  Where are you going?  Where have you been?  Have you done your homework?  Did you cheat?  Where did this come from?  What time did you get home?  Are you doing drugs?  Were you drinking?  What websites are you visiting? – and the list goes on.

The news these days seems to be filled with situations where people are found out to be lying.  It’s almost as though telling the truth is something foreign.  People do things they know they shouldn’t and then lie to cover it up.  It becomes a way of life.  Where it really hurts is when individuals who have proclaimed their faith in Christ are found guilty of it.

Ananias and his wife Sapphira sold property to give the proceeds to the church.  But instead of giving all the proceeds, they withheld some and represented their gift as being the entire amount.  It cost both of them their lives!   They died when confronted by the truth.  Scripture says that “great fear seized the whole church and all who heard about these events.”

Suppose at any time, in any situation, someone we know or someone in authority might ask us a similarly pointed question regarding actions we have taken or words we have said. Further suppose that a false answer on our part could cost us our lives.  Is there anything in our lives that comes to mind that must be dealt with?  Lies and untruth cannot be a part of our lives.  If they are, repent; seek the Lord and get help from mature believers.  Remember, God’s view of such things hasn’t changed from the days of Ananias and Sapphira.  We must be lovers of the truth!

Nehemiah 1:5  Then I said: “O LORD, God of heaven, the great and awesome God, who keeps his covenant of love with those who love him and obey his commands,”

There is a scene in the movie Fantasia called Night on Bald Mountain.  It is a scene where the mountain top becomes the god of evil; one of Disney’s most powerful and terrifying villains.  In the middle of the night he unfolds his wings and the whole mountain top becomes this evil being.  He terrorizes his minions and is frightening to behold.  But the coming of the dawn, forces him to withdraw and conceal himself once again.

I find this representation to be the antithesis of our ‘great and awesome God’.  Yes we read in Exodus 19 where God came down on Mt. Sinai with thunder, lightning, billowing smoke and the whole mountain trembled violently.  And I truly believe that the fear of the Lord includes elements of this Mt. Sinai reality.  But Nehemiah’s prayer in addressing the LORD, refers to his covenant of love with those who love him and obey his commands.  Daniel addresses the LORD in the very same way in his prayer (Daniel 9:4).

While we must come to grips with the serious reality of our God, our focus is upon the amazing love relationship that He has established with us.  We are not minions, but sons and daughters.  He does not terrorize us, but He is totally for us and works in us to be totally for Him.  We are able to daily experience His love for us and express our love to Him.

The experiences I had with my last boss at Medical Mutual provide a really helpful perspective in understanding my daily relationship with God.  I remember Mike’s first meeting with our unit in Cleveland.  He was very pleasant, but he let it be known that if something was unethical or illegal or even close to it, he didn’t want us even thinking of doing such things. He went on to describe the working relationship that he wanted us to have – which was wonderful.

He was a joy to work with and for; but he was no one to mess with.  The more I got to know him the more thrilled I was.  He cared about what we thought – and more than that he cared about us.  Mike was a wonderful Christian man.  Importantly, he lived his faith in all his actions and attitudes with us at work.  He was a picture of integrity and doing the right thing.

I worked with and for Mike for the next 3 ½ years.  Never, in all my years of working had I worked for a more wonderful, caring, competent person.  He was there for us whenever we needed him.  The practical outcome of this was both functional and relational.  I was able to excel in doing my job – it was both my opportunity and responsibility.  I also relished the relationship with my superior (boss) and how it was able to thrive as I responded consistently with his (appropriate) expectations.  He relished my success.

Day by day, our Heavenly Father wants us to experience the joyful reality that comes with being His child and living our lives for Him.  We get to experience and live out His covenant of love in all the situations we find ourselves in.  It’s easy to understand why He cares so about what we do: our actions have such impact on our relationship with Him – and that’s what He treasures most of all.  It is a covenant of love.

Matthew 6:13a  “And lead us not into temptation,…”

Years ago I heard a Bible teacher give a very illuminating paraphrase of this verse: “Lord, let there not be anything in my heart that would cause you to put me to the test.”  We know from Scripture that God doesn’t tempt anyone.  (James 1:13)  But God will allow situations to arise that will reveal what is within us.  The manner in which lovers of Jesus respond is critical.

I think of King Hezekiah in 2 Chronicles 32:31 – “But when envoys were sent by the rulers of Babylon to ask him about the miraculous sign that had occurred in the land, God left him to test him and to know everything that was in his heart.”  The same Bible teacher explained that the way God leaves us is to withdraw our conscious awareness of His presence.  We think we’re alone, but we’re not.

God uses these experiences in our lives for our benefit – not as ‘Gotcha!’ moments.  They are God’s gifts to us that allow us to show ourselves strong in His behalf; or to have faults within us revealed that we then can deal with.  If we have ‘termites’ or are building our ‘house’ upon sand rather than rock (Matthew 7:24-27), isn’t it critical that we find out and repent?!

Sometimes the situations we encounter reveal our unbelief or lack of faith.  When we see our deficiencies, they are not putdowns – but are revelations that enable us to change for the better.  The Holy Spirit is working within us to conform us to the image of Christ in every area of our lives.  The opportunity to repent is such a gift from God!

God wants and expects excellence from us in every area of our lives.  If we think we are only capable of mediocrity, we will be content with mediocrity.  But with the Holy Spirit we are not only capable of excellence; we are held accountable for it as well.  Not in a judgmental way, but as recipients of the greatest gifts ever given: the new birth and the Holy Spirit.  This news isn’t meant to intimidate us but exhilarate us!

God is working incessantly within us to enable us to become a glory to Him.    He is the Master Craftsman.  When people see us (the work of His hands), His intent is for them to recognize His craftsmanship.  They will see Him in us; and experience Him when interacting with us!  We are an intimate part of the process so let’s embrace it with the passion it deserves.