Sunday 15 Apr 2012

Sunday Reading: Ephesians 5:1-2

Key Verse: Ephesians 5:2
2  And walk in love, as Christ also hath loved us, and hath given himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweetsmelling savour.

Devotion:
When the Apostle Paul wrote these letters to the church at Ephesus he wanted them (and us) to realise that we need to have the right approach to listening to and following our God. It is not just a case of us listening and doing what we think He says because as we ourselves grow we get to have our own ideas about what is right and what is wrong. The more that we make our own minds up the harder it is for us to change and be moulded by our God. God would rather that we listen to Him as if we were children with open minds to take in everything that He wants to teach us.

Young children are more apt to listen to the whole truth before they accept things and then try to emulate; whereas adults would rather dictate what they do and get others to follow them instead. So the obvious choice for God is to choose those who are more willing to learn and that would be the children. That must not exclude adults otherwise it would be a bit too late for most of the population of the world! Instead God would like us to be like those children – willing to learn!

This brings to mind one of the verses that our Pastor’s wife so enjoys (Proverbs 22:6  Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.) If we are willing to learn as children then when we have ‘grown up’ in God’s Word we will be more apt to stick with His ways and do His will – ultimately bringing glory to Him. But if we try to act all ‘grown up’ and try to teach others to do things our own way, we are actually working against Him Will and rather proclaiming our own ways.

Christ showed us His amazing love in the way that He did so that we would take notice and know that He has shown us the right way. He did not hold anything back but rather gave it all with absolute love so that we would then take notice and learn that what we are hearing is the truth. But if we listen as adults would, we would tend to doubt the sincerity because we know that we would hold something back or we would change the rules so that we could get out of having to pay the ultimate price – whereas if we approach as children, we accept the truth as it is. Little wonder then that we are encouraged to approach Christ as children.

Points to Ponder:
Do you seek your own ways?

Are you willing to come to Christ as a child?