Monday Reading: 1 Corinthians 6:13-20
Key Verse: 1 Corinthians 6:17
17 But he being joined to the Lord is one spirit.
Devotion:
It is amazing how much we often put of ourselves into things, not just relationships with other people, but relationships (if you can call them that) with work or other activities. So many people turn to The Lord at the weekends and then bury themselves in their work or other activities during the week. Each time we do that we are turning our backs on our relationship with Christ and inviting in every other thing in our lives instead. When God commanded that we should have no other gods before Him, He meant exactly that; if we allow other things in our lives to become more important than Him, we have a problem!
Earthly things and earthly means are exactly that. They will perish with time. Heavenly things are everlasting and will continue forever more – that is what we need to aim for. If we enter into a relationship with anything or anyone else we need to be sure that it is going to be sure. The only way we can make that happen is if we invite Christ to be a part of that relationship. So no matter what we aim for, we need to keep Christ involved in everything that we do. Unfortunately for me I did not see that as being important when I was finding my way in life; but looking back on things does not make me sad that I have messed things up but rather that I have learned to walk closer to God than ever before.
When we enter into a relationship with someone (or something), that person (or thing) becomes part of our lives. If we treat that relationship with contempt then we should not expect it to last nor to be pleasant. If, however, we are willing to commit to a long term relationship and are willing to work towards a better end, then things will look a whole lot better; but still it may well perish with time. If, however, we are willing to make Christ central to that relationship and to trust and obey Him, then we will find things can only grow stronger with time.
Points to Ponder:
What do you look for in a relationship?
Are you keeping Christ with you?
