For reasons beyond my understanding, my daughter Thea loves
the ceiling fan in our kitchen. My daughter is aware that in order for her to
get closer to the fan and be able to pull the chains, she requires some assistance.
So, a common practice of Thea’s is to approach me, express that she wants to be
held through a tug at my pants or by reaching up and grunting, but she has an
agenda. First impressions would seem like she wants to be closer to “Dada”, but as
she begins to look away from me and lean toward the fan it becomes clear that I
was not what she was seeking after. In those moments I am merely the
means to her desired end. I am but a living,
breathing elevator to her wanted destination. One day as I was reflecting
on this curious and reoccurring event, I was hit with the notion that it can
serve as a spiritual analogy.
I think that if we are honest, we can be like my
daughter in our interactions with God. We draw close to him only
when there’s something we want from him. I know that it’s an unfortunate trend among
those who identify as Christians. We tend to treat The Lord as the means to a
desired end, instead of seeking God Himself.
We might only pray when asking for deliverance from
trouble. Maybe we only go to Jesus for salvation from judgment. We may serve God
only so that he’ll bless us in kind with health, finances, success etc. We
function as God’s employees instead of as His children. We do things to collect a “paycheck”, instead of living in loving response to God's love toward us.
The crazy thing is, we end up only depriving ourselves of
what we truly need when we do that. Despite how entertaining the fan may be to
my daughter, these things cannot offer her the provision, protection and love
that I offer her as her father. Of course anything I can offer her is only by
God’s grace, but hopefully you get my point. This same concept is true of us.
If we are treating God as a stepping stone to some
other thing we ultimately want, we actually deprive ourselves from the true
blessings God offers in Himself.
Isaiah 55:1-2
“Come, everyone who thirsts, come to the
waters; and
he who has no money, come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk
without money and without
price. Why
do you spend your money for that which is not bread, and your labor for that which
does not satisfy? Listen diligently to me, and eat what is good,
and delight yourselves in
rich food.”
This
passage and many others in scripture tell us that God Himself is the ultimate
source of fulfillment. Anything other than Him can’t truly provide what our souls
long for. We need to understand and trust that He’s not just the means to a
different end; He is the means and the ultimate end. In Him we find our hope,
peace, purpose, salvation, satisfaction, and everything else that we truly need. The
more our hearts are set on God Himself, the more we will actually be satisfied.
Psalm
37:4
“Delight
yourself in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart.”
No comments:
Post a Comment