Read
“Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you; I appointed you a prophet to the nations.”
Jeremiah 1:5
Reflect
Image how you’d feel if you saw this bumper sticker:
Wanted: A meaningful overnight relationship
The immoral implications of this bumper sticker are plain. Behind the initial “blush” of the message is a deep-seated spiritual problem. A “meaningful” overnight relationship with anyone is impossible. This is especially true when it comes to our relationship with God.
God is not looking for overnight relationships. He began reaching out to us before we were even a thought in our parents’ minds. “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you,
and before you were born I consecrated you.” (Jeremiah 1:5a)
In the short-term — and definitely in the long-term — we become one with anyone we unite ourselves to. Paul reminded us of this when he wrote, “Or do you not know that he who is joined to a prostitute becomes one body with her? For, as it is written, ‘The two will become one flesh.’ But he who is joined to the Lord becomes one spirit with him.” (1 Corinthians 6:1-17)
If we want to develop a long-term relationship with the Lord, we have to join ourselves with Him in a meaningful way that goes beyond the momentary. God’s people cannot engage in the equivalent of an overnight relationship with things that are ungodly or impure but instead seek purity and a long-standing spiritual impact through Jesus Christ.
Reflection copyright © 2024 Doug DeBolt and Charles Fulton.
