Adoration

I've been thinking about some things that have come up frequently recently. I want to share some of these thoughts and the theme I have been noticing in a few ways - through talks, people's actions, personal challenges. Be open about what this means in your life. Ready to be challenged?

What is most important to you?

Is it being well liked? Having enough money? Your girlfriend/boyfriend? What is it that you think about most and devote your most time to?

Which of these answers are really important when compared to eternity? How important to us do we let them become? They might be fairly important. For example. spending time with your family is a good thing, working hard is a good thing, but they can get to a point where the balance is not right. We can get to a place where not only is it unhealthy, but sin.

"Sin, at it's core, is misplaced adoration." - Christopher Witmer

If we look at some examples of sin, how does this look?

Stealing, adoration of things and putting your wants above others and what is often felt inherently to be morally right.

Swearing. Where does this come from? Your mind and your heart that aren't rooted in God. [For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. Luke 6:45, Matthew 12:34]. So I think this could be adoration of image, trying to appear a certain way, or showing an adoration of self through the filling of the mind with things that you feel like seeing instead of focusing on the things of God and what is true and pure and lovely.

Adultery, adoration of your feelings and pleasure over what is right.

Laziness, for example laying in bed on a Sunday instead of going to spend time with God, adoration of self and of comfort.

If you read Romans 8:7-14 you'll see how the bible talks about if you are governed by the flesh your mind is hostile to God and you cannot please God.

We might say that something is important to us, but how do we show it? Do our choices display what is important to us?


I know that my choices don't always reflect what I say.  It is so easy to spend my time doing meaningless things, and sometimes resting and relaxing is important, but is this how I am going to spend the majority of my spare time?

The thing is, God is eternal. TV shows, fashion, money, games aren't. 

Besides God being eternal - and therefore our relationship with Him being eternal and vitally important - people's souls are. We have this opportunity to reach people, to be God's servants and reach the world. Again this highlights the importance of a relationship with God as you alone can't change a person's heart.

How can our actions reflect God's importance in our lives?

Obviously time is one way. The things we choose to spend the most time on are generally very important to us. I don't think this just includes Sunday services and weekly bible studies but time spent alone with God. I've said this before, but it's like spending time with a friend in a group as opposed to alone. You'll get to know them in a group setting and possibly quite well too but usually when you talk to a person one-on-one is when you really get to know them more deeply.

I've realised this year, having finished school, that although school is an important part of life it really isn't the most important. Once you're dead will it matter to you what grade you got or what you studied? It may have an impact on the world and other people, but will it be of eternal significance?

The one constant, the one thing that remains after all else is gone, is God. Nothing can seperate us from His love. You might become an amnesiac - however unlikely - and forget everything you learnt for your degree, you might lose an important person in your life, but God doesn't go missing, or forget us, or decide that we are too broken to love. He loves us just the same.

For I am sure that neither death nor life, not angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. - Romans 8:38-39