Single-minded

Single-Minded

On that day there will be one LORD, and his name the only name.

Zechariah 14:9

IN WORD Scattered allegiances, divided loyalties. The commitments of this world are fragmented beyond comprehension. Every nation, even within itself, has conflicting alliances and competing agendas. Every person has ties to several obligations. Even within our own hearts, we are a mixture of loyalties.

When we accept Christ, our allegiances are supposed to become clear. We are first and foremost loyal to our Savior; everything else is a distant second. Even so, we still sometimes have difficulty discerning His will and knowing what commitments to allow into our hearts. But one day, there will be no split devotion, not even among those who served other gods their entire lives. There will be one Lord, and His name will be the only name.

This was God’s design way back in the Garden. The first man and woman heard one voice and had one commitment. Life was simple then and would have remained so if they had not tuned their ears to another voice. The first sin confused all loyalties, and apart from God’s revelation, we’ve never come out of our confusion. His design was thwarted when our hearts tried to lean in two directions. On that great and terrible day of which Zechariah speaks, the design will be restored. Life will be simple again. There will only be one Lord, one voice, one name.

IN DEED When believers read end-time prophecies and realize what life will be like when God sets all things right, we can have two possible responses. We can marvel at how things will be one day; or we can, by faith, bring eternity’s truths into present experience. We can go ahead and live simply, devoted to one voice and one name.

That’s our calling. Nearly every description of eternity has implications for the present time. God’s people are to be a picture of the new creation, messengers of the end result. Ask yourself today: to what degree does your life represent one Lord, one voice, and one name?

I need nothing but God, and to lose myself in the heart of Jesus.

—MARGARET MARY ALACOQUE