This week enjoy a change from our usual liturgical pattern and instead reflect on a daily essay on devotional life.
All, Not And by Pastor Jeff Cloeter
We live in a world of distraction. When our attention is dissipated, there can be a gap between what you believe and how you behave. Between what you say and what you do. So in these three illustrations, Jesus provides a heart diagnostic. You can take the test. These three things reveal what you are devoted to:
In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus presents a trilogy of illustrations. In each of them, he calls his followers to devotion in a world of distraction. These three illustrations can function as a heart diagnostic. Take the test:
His first illustration is: Treasure. “Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” (Matt. 6:21)
The heart is the center of you, the compass that orients your life to ultimate things. Where your heart is set, the rest of you follows. What is the ultimate thing your heart desires? What truly is your treasure? If someone looked at your calendar, how you spend your time and where your attention is, what would it say?
The second illustration is: The Eye “The eye is the lamp of the body.” (Matt. 6:22)
Light and color enter your eye through your retina. Information travels through the ocular nerve to the brain. Your mind, your heart, and your body respond to what is seen. Wherever you focus your vision, your body follows. So what is your eye focused on? What is the focus of your attention? If someone looked at your internet browser history, what would it say about you? What do you look at most?
The third illustration is: A Master “No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other.” (Matt. 6:24)
You can’t worship two gods. The human heart is created to have one, exclusive ultimate. There are things in this world that compete for god-like allegiance. But Jesus demands primacy. Notice the words love and devotion. In this trilogy of illustrations, Jesus confronts you with this question: What are you devoted to? If someone looked at your behavior, your habits, what would that say about you? What do you value?
We live in a distracted world. We have so many commitments competing for our attention. I have work AND school AND social life AND hobbies AND down time, AND family commitments, AND, AND, AND. Christ is not another AND. He is ALL. Jesus says, “I want your all. Your heart and everything that comes with it. I am your treasure. I am the focal point of your vision. I am your gracious Master. I’m not one more thing in your life; I am your everything. I’m not one part among many, but the whole. Not AND, but ALL. In our distracted era, this is a call to “all,” to Christ, our all in all.