Completely God's

Are we completely God’s or are we only God’s when we think it’s convenient? Are we just going through the motions or are we completely living for God?  

“As for you, son of man, your people who talk together about you by the walls and at the doors of the houses, say to one another, each to his brother, ‘Come, and hear what the word is that comes from the Lord.’ And they come to you as people come, and they sit before you as my people, and they hear what you say but they will not do it; for with lustful talk in their mouths they act; their heart is set on their gain. And behold, you are to them like one who sings lustful songs with a beautiful voice and plays well on an instrument, for they hear what you say, but they will not do it.” ~Ezekiel 33:30-32

Do you go to church? Do you read your Bible? Do you have a daily quiet time? Are you in ministry? Etc… For many Christians, most if not all of the above questions would be “yes” but lately I wonder, are we truly living out why Jesus came over 2000 years ago and are we truly living as Christians? It’s easy to do all the “Christian” things but when we get down to it, are we truly picking up our crosses and following Jesus daily or are we just going through the motions as mentioned above in Ezekiel? It’s a real struggle and there are times in our lives where we will find ourselves feeling empty on the inside and not understanding what’s going on but if we truly pay attention to the emptiness then we can probably find out that it has something to do with being spiritually empty. As someone working in ministry, I feel like we are too often prone to getting caught up in the motions and not truly giving God our everything and being completely God’s. It’s easy to get into a routine or working and going to church that we overlook the actual relationship with God and how we are living out the Gospel. As the Matthew West song says, “I don’t want to go through the motions, I don’t want to go one more day without your all consuming passion inside of me. I don’t wanna spend my whole life asking what if I had given everything instead of going through the motions.” Are we truly sold out to God or are we wondering at the end of the day how things would have been different if we had only give it our everything? Are we starting a new journey and looking back wondering “what if” or are we confident that we were completely God’s and lived everyday as if it were our last and for God rather than just going through the motion and missing what God may have had in store for us and wanted us to get out of the day, the year, our experience, etc?

"As they were going along the road, someone said to him, “I will follow you wherever you go.” And Jesus said to him, “Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.” To another he said, “Follow me.” But he said, “Lord, let me first go and bury my father.” And Jesus said to him, “Leave the dead to bury their own dead. But as for you, go and proclaim the kingdom of God.” Yet another said, “I will follow you, Lord, but let me first say farewell to those at my home.” Jesus said to him, “No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God.” ~Luke 9:57-62

Sometimes in life and in our day to day task and conversations we may find ourselves wondering what the point of things are, if we are making a difference, if things really matter, etc and we pick and choose what to give our everything to but when it comes to being a follower of God we should be living everyday to our fullest potential and giving God our everything. The above passage explains it well. We need to be willing to follow God where ever He leads us, live to our fullest potential, and give our everything for God rather than only doing it when it’s convenient like going to church but not spending time with God the rest of the week.

I know this is something that is often brought back to my attention and I have to be reminded about how I am living my life and that God called me into a life of ministry even when I may feel like it’s not worth it or it seems inconvenient. It’s easy to get caught us in going through the motions but going through the motions and following God only when it’s convenient isn’t what God wants from us but rather He wants our everything and we should be living completely for God and being His light in the broken world and to those that need to see Christ through us. We never know who may be looking up to us to get a glimpse of Christ and hope in Christ so be cautious of the moments when you find yourself just going through the motions or “inconvenienced” in following God where He has called you to go or do what He has called you to do. 

Surrender everything to God's control and be completely His!