“But the Lord is faithful. He will establish you and guard you against the evil one. And we have confidence in the Lord about you, that you are doing and will do the things that we command. May the Lord direct your hearts to the love of God and to the steadfastness of Christ.” 2 Thess. 3:3-5
Devotional Thought For The Day
It is important to study, learn, and inwardly integrate the teachings of God’s Word as regards our believing, our thinking, our speaking, and our actions. God gave us these instructions so that we be able to clearly discern right and wrong over against the distortions of our sinful flesh and the world around us – all of which are brought to us by “the evil one.” One of the principle effects of our study of God’s Word, His thoughts and His ways, is that we become aware of how our own thinking – often even our higher thinking, what we consider “spiritual” and insightful wisdom, is in contradiction to God’s definitions, descriptions, and instruction. While we might think that the immediate concern is that we change our ways, God is first concerned that we confess and acknowledge these inconsistencies and failings so that He can assure us of His gracious mercy, forgiveness, and love. Only this has power to overcome our pride, arrogance, and stubbornness, so that our changes are not merely superficial and ornamental, but rather come from the inside, filled with certainty, eagerness, and reverent submission, fully integrated into our being, who we are.
So the apostle prays the Lord to direct our heart into the love of God and to the steadfastness of Christ. We do far too little of this, and do not think this all that important, because we start out with wrong preconceptions regarding God. We think of Him as principally concerned about external behaviors, not about us personally. We do not understand or grasp His intimate care and concern for us, for our hearts and minds – even after we have parented and loved our children in this manner. So we are not all that aware of God’s will for us to truly know Him, His grace, mercy, and love, and for a variety of reasons would prefer that our relationship with God not get too personal. This also comes from our sinful flesh, the unbelieving world around us, weakness of faith within the church, and the evil one – who has always caricatured God as being less than fully committed to us. So the prayer – and it is still pertinent and critical for us. We too need to have our hearts and minds directed into the love of God, and into the steadfastness of Christ, that we can see and know God as He truly is, and be inwardly healed and renewed by His love.
This is the principle purpose of dwelling on God’s Word – including essentially the entire life and fellowship of the church. Christian worship centers in truth, especially the truth of God’s gracious goodness and love toward us, His free gift of forgiveness and eternal life in Christ Jesus. So we confess our sins, and we hear by Christ’s own command the absolution and forgiveness of our sins by one called to serve God and us in this way. The assurances of God’s loving providence over all things, and His personal love for us, is conveyed to us over and over again through His Word – from which all liturgy derives. The Sacrament of Christ’s true body and blood – “given and shed for you for the forgiveness of sins” – assures us again of His love, mercy, and forgiveness. The benediction comes straight from His Word, a blessing whereby God assures us of His love for us, His blessings upon us, His presence, protection, and good. All is intended to direct our hearts and minds to the love of God and Christ’s steadfastness toward us. Of course, God’s blessings can be circumvented if we chose not to attend, or if we attend and do not learn, or if we learn but afford His wisdom no central and enduring influence in our hearts and minds.
Again, since this does not initially strike us as important or essential in our “spiritual journey,” we must be encouraged to spend more time and energy growing in our knowledge of God’s love. This is the real motor and power behind all genuine sanctification – “we love because He first loved us.” And this – that we know God and His love for us, is far more important to God than anything else. In fact, Jesus calls such true and genuine “knowing” of God “eternal life.” [Jn. 17:3] Woe to the church or pastor who is not attentive to this; why waste the time and energy on anything else? Likewise, as we value our spiritual health and vitality, and as we are eager to draw closer to God, let us make sure that the church we are attending is doing just what Paul prayed for us. Human life and being is incredibly complex, more so than any mere human being can master. But God has made the healing and eternal blessedness of His dear human children very simple – “Abide in My love.” [Jn. 15:9]
Prayer For The Day
Dear Lord Jesus, You alone can provide for us the spiritual healing, life, and nurture that we so desperately need. You do so through Your Word which conveys the wonder and greatness of Your love to us. Help all who guide and direct the life of Your church to understand these things, that they indeed fulfill Your will of directing Your people into Your love and steadfastness. Enable us to drink deeply of Your gracious love – Your gifts of forgiveness, mercy, new life, and eternal salvation – that we also come to love deeply. Amen.