More Than Words

Isaiah 29:13
“Therefore the Lord said:
‘Inasmuch as these people draw near with their mouths
And honor Me with their lips,
But have removed their hearts far from Me,
And their fear toward Me is taught by the commandment of men,
Therefore, behold, I will again do a marvelous work
Among this people,
A marvelous work and a wonder;
For the wisdom of their wise men shall perish,
And the understanding of their prudent men shall be hidden.’”

When I read this yesterday, I was overcome with the thought, “I don’t want to be like that.” I don’t want to just talk about my faith in Christ, I want to live it. I don’t understand how people often think you can compartmentalize faith into a little box to take out when it is convenient. If you really believe this is the truth, if you really believe that God is Who He is and that Jesus is the only way to Him, you can’t just put that in a little box on the shelf to be put on like a badge when you're doing "Christian" things and taken off and put back on the shelf when you want to go on about your business. The things you find important begin to change as you walk with Him. I want my faith in Christ to inform how I live and think and move in all I do, even and especially how I behave as a wife and mom and neighbor, and even as a blogger. I don’t want to just intellectually assent to what I say I believe, I want to live it out day by day, by the power of the Holy Spirit in me.

I also don’t want my fear of God to be only defined by the result of the rules laid down by men. No, I want to rightly fear God because I have a biblical understanding of who He is. I want it to be because as I grow in faith I am consumed with the joy of the Lord and that I am becoming consumed with the desire to live for His glory. That is only going to come from knowing and spending time in His word and in prayer. If you’ve been reading a while, you know I’ve been thinking a lot here recently about what it means to seek and find my joy in Christ. This also comes from having a right understanding of Him and of my security in Him.

There’s a line in the hymn “Come, Thou Fount of Every Blessing” that says,
“Prone to wander, Lord I feel it,
Prone to leave the God I love.”

I often find that I struggle with loving God with all my heart, with all my soul, and with all my mind. And yet, this is the first and greatest commandment. And when we struggle with that, we also struggle to love our neighbor as ourselves. In the pilgrim walk of life, I fear I’m terribly prone to wander at times, in my attention, in where I place my affections. I don’t say all that to excuse hypocrisy, but to recognize it. But, oh, aren’t you glad God is a covenant keeping God. I am redeemed by the blood of Christ Jesus, clothed in His righteousness, upheld by His righteousness. He is mighty to save, and I bow before Him in humility and awe that He would love and save and redeem one like me. I am amazed that Jesus would take on human flesh and live and walk among us and live perfectly for God’s glory, and as the only One able to save, die for those who would repent and believe on Him, taking our guilt and shame and clothing us with robes of righteousness, washed in His precious blood. His righteousness making us whole. And I’m amazed that He always turns my eyes back to Him. And I’m amazed that He offers grace in abundance to sustain me and enable me to be the mom and wife I’m supposed be. It humbles me to think how often my attention strays and how often I find myself being so self-centered that I have a hard time climbing out of my comfort zone to be a more effective witness.

"Turn your eyes upon Jesus,
Look full in His wonderful face,
And the things of earth will grow strangely dim,
In the light of His glory and grace."

How I want to offer more than empty words and a distant heart. How I want to draw near to God, for drawing near to God is good. How I want the fragrance of His righteousness to be evident in all I do. How I hate the wandering ways that lead to selfishness and temper and misplaced affections.

“Here’s my heart, Lord, take and seal it,
Seal it for Thy courts above.”