Blake Allen, Young Adult and Student Pastor, LHBC
1 Kings 8:61
61 Let your heart therefore be wholly true to the Lord our God, walking in his statutes and keeping his commandments, as at this day.”
My wife and I bought a washable rug for our living room. With two kids in the house, we wanted something that would not only look good, but also stand the tide against the spills and stains. Funny enough, my two kids are not the reason I am washing coffee stains out of our ruggable. But that is neither here nor there, and this is why we got a washable rug–I do say it’s awesome!
As I sit here in this washateria, I’m amazed by the power of the industrial sized washers and dryers. Watching the soapy water coursing through the fabric of our rug in this humongous machine is actually kind of calming (I know, weird right!) But as I was watching the washer do its thing a question came to mind….. How often does our faith resemble the wash process? Our sin caused the stain. We, then, bring it to God to wash it away. We may pay a fee or tithe out of obligation rather than worship, we press the start button and leave our faith on autopilot, and repeat the process when necessary.
But is this really faith? Unlike the wash process which requires passive or minimal effort, 1 Kings seems to imply we are to have an active faith. We can’t wash our sin clean ourselves. Only God can do that. But we are not sit, watch, or go on autopilot with our faith. We are to live a life honoring God. We have been given a clean heart. Our response to receiving a clean heart is worship. But so many times we wrongly define worship as going to church and sitting in a pew. God has so much more in mind for you and I.
We are to walk in faith. Live life in faith. And continue in faith. This is what it means to “walk in God’s statutes and keep His commandments.” God is not interested in legalistic and ritualistic obedience. No, He has given us a clean heart and desires us to live a life of worship in response to receiving a clean heart. We serve and tithe, not out of obligation, but out of worship. We attend church not because we have to but because we get and want to. We do all of these things to keep the commandments of the Lord, yes. But it is not for salvation. It’s because of salvation. It is about responding to what all God has done.
Is your heart wholly devoted to God? Are you walking in obedience as a response to what He has done? And is your faith active–can it be seen and easily recognized?
PRAYER FOR TODAY
Father, may we commit our lives fully to you. Forgive us for our half-hearted devotion. May we go All-in for you knowing that you gave your all for us. In Jesus name, Amen.
MEMORY VERSE OF THE WEEK:
Luke 2:11: For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.