“The greatest competitor of devotion to Jesus is service for Him.” ~Oswald Chambers
Ouch! Convicted. How often do I find myself doing, doing, doing, and doing some more, only to realize I have lost sight of what truly matters? It is as Jim Elliot once said: “For what shall it profit a man if he should gain the whole world and loose his own soul?”
Well, I’m a Christian college student. If there is one thing that I am guilty of doing it is being busy, or “trying to gain the whole world.” Classes, projects, homework, meals, homework, service projects, small groups, chapel, mentor groups, and homework constantly consume my mental, emotional, and physical energies. In all of this busy-ness, it can be so easy to forget what I am doing this all for. I am doing “Christian” things so much that I am apt to neglect building my relationship with God. My brothers and sisters, this should not be.
After all, it is God who made me, gifted me with specific talents, brought me to JBU and is guiding me every day. Who am I to forget my Maker? Who am I to allow my desire for service, accomplishment or activity to compete with my priceless relationship to my Savior?
Readers, many of you are fellow students. You know the challenges of not allowing service and action to consume your every moment. Especially extra-curricular activities, such as working with a youth group, going to Passion (JBU student discipleship) group, and campus or community service projects can so often become more about doing and less about devotion.
I am taking this as a challenge to look carefully at my days. The rest of this week, I am going to choose to spend some more time each day devoted to worshiping and fellowshipping with my Savior. I will have to make a conscious effort not to allow my devotion time to become yet another activity, another act of service, another busy-ness. Devotion to my Savior is not something to check off my daily list. It is something to live in throughout my days, expressing my love to Him by what I do.
Questions:
Os Guinness, in his book Rising to the Call says, “first and foremost we are called to Someone (God), not to something[…]or to somewhere” (pp. 24-25). How does this concept of calling intertwine with service and devotion to shape how we live our Christian lives? If we aren’t doing something, are we living up to the potential, or calling, that God has given us? If we don’t have the relationship and the focus on our primary calling, is anything worth doing? How do we strike this balance? Is it really possible? Or is it a constant tension in our lives as Christians?
Great post Laura! Most excellent :) I especially like your application to other students and also to yourself.
ReplyDeleteOn a side note...the Jim Elliot quote is actually something he got from the Bible - Matthew 16:26. That's just me being my overly precise self ;-)