A is for Adoration

A is for Adoration
by Wendy Elizabeth Middleton

Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength. Mark 12:30

There are a few different Greek words that got translated into English as ‘love.’ Some mean affection, some mean a mother’s love for her child. The word Jesus used was agape. This is more than affection, more than the love a mother has for her child. This is devotion, commitment – Adoration. 

And on top of this Adoration Christ adds all – all – all – all.
What do you think of when you are asked about the 10 Commandments?
Do not kill, do not steal, no adultery, no idols.

Can you name all of the commandments in order? Cause, really, they are a big deal.

I find that even non-believers can name some of them – and even Christians tend to forget the very first one.

You shall have no other gods before me. Exodus 20:3

We tend to think of gods with a little g as the Greek and Roman gods or the Aztec snake god or the Minoan snake headed goddess. But god with a little g is anything that we allow to pull our focus away from God with a big G.

Television, the superbowl, celebrities, the list goes on and on - and it shouldn’t. 

Jesus spoke of the total commitment that Christianity requires. All of you, every part of you, belongs to God – First.

All of your heart not just a tiny little corner of it.

You must love God more than your parents, your spouse or your children, certainly more than some television show.

And here is one of those mysteries that non-believers don’t get: If you love God with all of your heart then you will love your parents, spouse and children. And you will love them more and better than you ever could without God in the center of all that you do.

All of your soul, your eternal essence, the core of your entire being.

A Christian must be self-less and God-more.

You must love God more than your own life. This is a lesson of Christian maturity, for we are a fearful people called to fearlessness. This body will fade and return to dust, it counts for nothing. All life is a series of temporary conditions. The only constant in life is God and all of your soul belongs to Him.

All of your mind. He deserves your undistracted, undivided attention.

This is a hard one because our attention span is about 30 seconds. Our minds wander away in a million directions.

We are reading the Bible and suddenly we start thinking about grocery shopping, and the problems at work and the argument that we had three years ago. Even though we can’t remember what we were arguing about we do remember that some hurtful words were said and now we’re mad all over again… and what was I reading? Something about forgiveness?

We fill our minds with junk rather than the word of God. I hate to rag on television, but honestly, 200+ channels and the only thing on that is even remotely interesting is a rerun I’ve seen at least twice before. And I choose this rather than turning the TV off and opening the Bible?

And don’t get me started with the smart phones.

Open your Bible, and keep opening your Bible and the unimportant becomes less and less appealing.

Which brings us to all of your strength.

This is our dairy work out. Strengthen your faith muscles. Do those deep knee bends before Him. Flex those biceps; lift that Bible up off of the table. Work on those fine motor skills by taking notes. Fill your mind with His presence. Fill your heart with His words. Build your concentration with prayer.

Adore God. Be eager to be with Him. Spend time with Him. Marvel at His majesty. Stand in awe of His great works. Love God with everything you’ve got.

Simple – Ain’t – Easy
But it sure is worth the effort
Wendy