Deeper Life #94

And he is before all things, and by him all things consist.

—Colossians 1:17

WHAT KIND OF ZEAL HAVE you? If it is only “moral zeal,” then beware! But if your zeal, passion, and determination—yea, every fiber of your body—are motivated by a personal and passionate devotion to Jesus Christ, you are a humble worker of God.

Our Lord wants us to see this important distinction. Everything done from any motive other than a passionate devotion to the Lord, who died that He might save us by washing us from our sins through the shedding of His own blood, is unacceptable to Him. Hatred of sin is not enough. Even love for our fellow man falls short.

Jesus does not call us to be moral reformers. We are to concentrate our efforts on one thing, and the apostle Paul echoes it for us:” For I determined not to know any thing among you, save Jesus Christ, and him crucified” (1 Corinthians 2:2).

My right to myself must cease. My zeal in doing God’s work my way must cease. My desire to take God’s truth my way must cease. And my practice of preaching Jesus Christ my way must cease. I must magnify the Cross of Christ. My zeal and fervor must be lost in devotion to our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

Prayer Thought: Jesus, be the Lord of my life and the Master of my mind.

SUGGESTED READING: Colossians 1:14–17