There are some really addicting shows on TV these days. Some of them really hook me and draw me in, quickly becoming the shows that I don’t want to miss, the shows I just can’t miss.
Thank goodness for my DVR. Remember when we used to have to look in either the newspaper or the TV Guide to find out what was on TV? Then, if we couldn’t watch it, we had to use the VCR. Now that was a process. We had to find an empty tape, and we had to actually remember the night, the time, and the channel our favorite show was on and go to the trouble of programming the VCR to record the show. How did we manage with such a dinosaur of technology?!
Oh! And another thing. The VCR would only record one particular episode. Not so with my amazing DVR! Not only can I record my favorite show by just pressing one button, but I can set the DVR to record the entire series and not have to remember to record it again! Did I mention I really like my DVR?? (haha)
You’re probably wondering by now “where in the ba-gee-bees is she going with this?!” Well hop on my “train of thought” and see where it took me. LOL
This all started out this morning when I read John 14:15.
“If you love Me, you will keep my commandments.”
As I began to think about that, my train of thought went something like this. I DO love God. I DO want to keep His commandments. His commands are found in the Bible. The Bible is God’s Word. “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God“. God’s Word IS God (deep breath and mental pause while that sinks in).
In a book I was reading at the time, it was said, “You can’t know a person you don’t spend time with.” So if I can’t know a person I don’t spend time with, then I can’t know God without spending time in His Word, because His Word IS……HIM. And if I don’t know what He says, I can’t obey Him.
You can’t know a person you don’t spend time with.
Well have I mentioned how busy life is?? Well, it is. It seems often that we get up and hit the floor running, not stopping again until we find ourselves tucked in for the night. Well, I found myself thinking about things and trying to justify those times when I have an “abbreviated” time with God because I have a schedule to keep. It was then that the Spirit of God whispered these questions to my heart and mind.
“Do you have as much dedication to Me as you do to your favorite shows?”
“Do you carve out ‘on-purpose time’ to spend time with Me??”
His Spirit went on to say, “You know you can’t show your love for Me without obeying me…and you can’t know what to obey without Me telling you what to obey…and I can’t tell you what to obey if you don’t read my Word because I AM my Word, ya know.”
Then I began to ponder why people tend to spend such a limited time with God. I guess it boils down to two basic things:
We have a lack of desire.
Let’s be honest, we make time for the things that we really want to do…like watch our favorite TV shows. If we don’t do something, it’s because we didn’t really want to.
We lack a sense of “need”.
We lack a sense of “need” when we think about time with God. I mean, I NEED to breathe, I NEED to eat and drink, I NEED to sleep, I NEED to watch my favorite shows. But when it comes to reading my Bible, I “should” really find time to do that, right?
We see time with God as a benefit, but not as a necessity.
Jesus left with us with two basic commands before He ascended into heaven. “Love God” and “Love people” (my paraphrase). So track with me here…since I can’t love God without obedience, and since I can’t know what to obey without God telling me, and since God tells me what to do through His word, (because God IS his Word), then I can’t say I love God without spending some serious time in His word….right???
There are alot of things that demand our time. There are things we HAVE to do. There are things we WANT to do. There are things we SHOULD do.
So out of those last three sentences, which one defines your drive when it comes to spending time with God?
“Have to?” “Want to?” “Should?”
Hmmmmm…heavy stuff, huh?