by Elder Dorai
How do we love the Lord? We love Him by devoting ourselves to Him. The early believers were characterized by their devotion to the Lord. They continually devoted themselves to the Lord and they were all filled with the awesome presence of God (Acts 2:42, 43a). Devotion to the Lord would make a difference in our lives. We would feel His presence. There is a hunger in every heart to feel the presence of God. Why is this so? I believe it is for the simple reason that Jesus Christ is ALIVE! They were drawing near to the Lord and He was drawing near to them (James 4:8). Those who turn to Him regularly, experience His presence regularly. Devote yourselves to the Lord daily and you will keep feeling His presence everyday.
How do we devote ourselves to the Lord? We do it by devoting ourselves to the Word of God and fellowship, the Lord’s Supper and prayer (Acts 2:42). These are four foundational means of sustaining our devotion to Him on a regular basis. Through the Word of God, we hear His voice. Through fellowship, we experience His love. Through the Lord’s Supper, we remember Him in His first coming until He comes again. We hear the gospel being repeated that He died and rose again and offers the forgiveness of sins to whoever repents and turns to Him. Through prayer we express faith in Him. We learn to speak and listen to Him. However, why is it that we find that these very spiritual disciplines after some time become dry and lifeless? I believe the reason lies in losing our passion or love for the Person of Christ. These spiritual disciplines soon lose their grip on us when we lose our passion for Him or lose sight of Him.
How do we sustain our love or passion for the Lord? Jesus said we need to have an undivided devotion to Him (Matthew 6:24). The Apostle John said, that our love for the Lord must be one of whole hearted devotion and not be drawn away by the love of the world (1 John 2:15). When our devotion gets divided either by the love for money or by the love of the world, our love for Him is lost. We succumb to this very subtly by “busyness,” or “overwhelmings” – the pressures and demands of everyday life. They sap our time and energy. There is no time and no energy left for the Lord.
What is the cure for this malady? Put first things first. Let us put the Lord first in our lives. Let us put our love for Him as the highest priority. Let us put our devotion to Him first. That was exactly what the early believers did. What a difference it made in their lives. People were attracted to them and many were added to their number daily those who were being saved (Acts 2:44-47).
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