If you look at the broader context of this passage, it
comes in the midst of a laundry list of how Christians
are to live. We are supposed to be humble, kind,
hopeful, loving of enemies, patient in suffering, etc.
All of those things make sense, and they seem to be the
sort of things of which one might need to be reminded.
But this little sentence is different. It seems out of
place. It is basically saying, don't forget, Christians
serve the Lord. It would be like having to remind a
bride and groom at a wedding that they are actually
supposed to love each other. It seems redundant. I
mean, if I'm Christian, doesn't that necessarily imply
that I am zealous and ardent in Spirit? Well, one would
think. But one would also think there was no purpose in
making the movie Spy Kids 3, but here it is .
The point is that all of us Christians find ourselves
lagging in zeal and being un-ardent in Spirit. All of
us find times when, let's be honest, God just isn't that
important to us. We know what we are supposed to do; go
to worship, be kind to a stranger, forgive an enemy, but
we just don't want to do it. The truth is this, that
when we lose our passion for God and our zeal to do
Christ's work here on earth, then all the other things
we are supposed to do fall away too. Today, I want you
to remember that, when everything else in this world is
gone, God will be there. I want you to remember that
God loves you. I want you to remember that the only way
this world will get any better is through God. Get
excited about that, and get your zeal on!
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Prayer: Holy God, this day let me have passion and
enthusiasm for you. I need you to re-energize me and renew my
soul. I love you and I thank you for all you have done for me. I
pray in Jesus' name. Amen.
[Phillip Blackburn, First Presbyterian Church] |
