Yes, just as you can identify a tree by its fruit, so you can identify people by their actions. Not everyone who calls out to me, “Lord! Lord!” will enter the Kingdom of Heaven. Only those who actually do the will of my Father in heaven will enter. On judgment day many will say to me, “Lord! Lord! We prophesied in your name and cast out demons in your name and performed many miracles in your name.” But I will reply, “I never knew you. Get away from me, you who break God’s laws.” [Matthew 7:20-23 (NLT)]
When my children were younger, there were several occasions that I wanted to pretend I had no idea to whom they belonged! There was that time one noticed (and used) the red emergency stop button on an escalator, or another discovered the meaning of the “domino effect” after pulling over one stanchion at the airport and seeing another ten follow suit, or one managed to be so nasty to the babysitter that she went home in tears, or when hotel security came knocking because of spitballs dropping from the window of our children’s adjoining hotel room. I really didn’t want to admit I knew them, let alone had given birth to them. We expected better from our children and their conduct certainly didn’t bring honor to our name. Unfortunately, their behavior, while unacceptable, was a somewhat unavoidable and unpleasant part of their growing up. Fortunately, those times of boundary testing are long over and I am now proud that they bear my name.
Those thoughts came to me after our visiting pastor opened worship with these words: “May we begin our service as we live our lives—in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.” His words lifted me until I felt them convict me. “As we live our lives…” Once home from church, I asked myself if I truly live my life in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, or only worship in their names. As they see me throughout the day, can the holy trio proudly say, “That’s our girl—she bears our name!” or, rather than claiming me as one of their own, would they just as soon say I belong to the other team? While I worship and pray in the name of the Holy Trinity, I asked myself if I truly live my daily life in their names. Do any of us? Do we harbor anger and resentment in His name? Do we gossip or slight someone in His name? Do we ignore the homeless or swear at the guy who cut us off in His name? Are we rude to the waitress, curt with our spouse, or impatient with the children in His name? Of course not, but yet we do all of those things and more (at least I do).
Although we pray and worship in the name of the Holy Trinity, prayer and worship are not isolated events. The way we live is our offering to God and our behavior should always bring honor to His holy name. Today and every day, may we truly live our lives as we worship—in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit!
When I was a little girl, although I was allowed to roam freely throughout much of my residential neighborhood, I was not permitted to go as far as the business section several blocks west. I had some playmates, however, who were allowed more freedom. One day, in defiance of my mother, I walked to the grocery store with them. Once there, they dared me to steal a candy bar, something they apparently did frequently and successfully. As young as I was, I knew shop-lifting was wrong but the chocolate bar looked so delicious that I took the bait. Even though I saw the trap being set, I stepped right into it and stole the candy! On the walk back down our street, I ate the chocolate and, as I recall, it didn’t taste nearly as good as I thought it would. When I returned home, guilt-ridden and ashamed, I told my mother what I had done. She marched me right back to that store where I paid for the stolen candy bar with my weekly allowance.
Second Chronicles tells of Uzziah, a man who became king of Judah at the age of sixteen and reigned for fifty-two years. A successful and renowned warrior, he defeated both Philistines and Arabs and expanded Judah’s borders. Uzziah was also a great builder; during his reign, cisterns were dug, towers fortified, forts built in the wilderness, and catapult-like machines that could sling stones and arrows were built on Jerusalem’s walls. With God’s help and guidance, Uzziah became famous and powerful.
While writing yesterday’s meditation, I remembered back to my high school days when I studied theater at an arts academy in northern Michigan. I should have been happy for my friend when she got the lead in a play, but I wasn’t. Instead, I was annoyed because I thought that role should have been mine. While the play was still being rehearsed, my friend returned to Ohio with a medical emergency. Did I pray for her? Of course not; I was a self-involved teenager and my only prayer was one of thanks because the lead role became mine. The emergency, however, wasn’t that serious and she returned to school (and her part in the play) several days later. Did I say a prayer of thanksgiving for her? Of course not; being a self-involved teenager, I pouted and gave her the cold shoulder.
Within a day of having written yesterday’s words about trusting Jesus and following Him, God reminded me how difficult it is to actually do that. Granted, it wasn’t God’s voice we were following but His point was well taken. Mid-way through our 1,400 mile drive north, the GPS cautioned us of one accident after another within a few miles ahead of us. After the first such warning, I studied the map trying to find a detour but couldn’t seem to find a route that wouldn’t lead us right back into the accident area and the promised lane closures. When five accidents lay right in our path, not wanting to spend hours in a traffic jam, we reluctantly decided to let the GPS lead us around the congestion. Following its guidance, my husband exited the interstate while I kept trying to figure out what route we’d be taking. Although the GPS screen always indicated the direction of the next turn, we never knew the long-range plan for returning to the highway. We simply had to trust the GPS and take it one turn at a time. Of course, with my trusty map, I tried to second-guess the GPS the entire way. I just couldn’t cede complete control to that sweet calm voice directing us. Without any help from me, however, that voice got us back on the interstate well north of all of the accidents and congestion.
Devotions of the Heart 