Have You Chosen The Better Part?
by Maranatha Chapman
".for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God."
".for the Lord, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God."
(Exodus 20:5, 34:14)
Webster's
Dictionary defines the word "jealous" as "intolerant of rivalry." It should
come as no surprise to us then that the Lord, in the context of warning
His people about idolatry, describes himself as "jealous," and even said
His very Name is "Jealous." The Lord Jesus wants all
of our hearts and lives all of the time, and
anything short of whole-hearted devotion is an affront to Him. Why? Because
we have allowed something-which is an idol-to rival Him, and, tragically,
to even surpass Him in claiming our heart's affections. Hebrews 4:13 says,
"There is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things
are open and laid bare to the eyes of Him with whom we have to do." Whenever
we are holding back aspects of our lives from Him, or we have become captivated
by something or someone other than Him, it does not go without His notice.
What does He see when He gazes into our hearts and lives? Do we provoke
Him to jealousy (1 Cor. 10:14-22, James 4:4-5)?
Some years ago I had the honor of meeting an apostle (in the truest sense
of the word) from Nepal named Prem Pradham. This man spent more than 10
years in harsh prisons, where he brought many men to the Lord and discipled
them so that, upon their release, they returned to their villages and
raised up churches all over Nepal. This dear little man, who was no more
than 5' 6" tall, endured beatings, torture, starvation, exposure to the
cold, and was even placed in solitary confinement in a hut with dead prisoners'
corpses for three months. The stories he told of the saints in Nepal were
very stirring. But what got my attention the most was his description
of how he and the other Christians in Nepal came to the Lord.
In Nepal, it is against the law to "change from the religion of your birth,"
that is, from the religion of the family you were born into. So when Prem
and others presented the Lord Jesus and the good news of the kingdom of
God to people, the choice to follow Him came with the immediate realization
that they were also choosing to become fugitives. Upon being baptized,
new faith in Jesus was welcomed by arrest and punishment by law of a minimum
of two years in prison. Because of this, from the very beginning, they
understood that they had to give the Lord everything-all of their lives.
Of course, just like us, they had to grow and be sanctified in many areas
of their walk, but because of such a good foundation, whatever stage of
life in the Lord they found themselves in, they were giving Him their
all. These saints had a profound realization that they were here on the
earth for the Lord and His purposes, no matter the cost, and this was
proven out in their lives and choices.
In sharp contrast, many people today in Western nations come to the Lord
in a context that costs them very little. Some want to add Jesus to their
life to help them with their problems. Others want Him for the "God section"
of their lives so as to have a wholesome belief system, ethics, inspiring
devotions, and Sunday religion. Here in the United States, you can come
to Jesus at a "Christian alternative music" rock concert and go right
on piercing and tatooing your body and pursuing worldly trends, but now
supposedly be doing it for the Lord. Women can come to Jesus and go right
on pursuing feminist goals and ideals. Christians here feel persecuted
when someone at their restaurant table prays over the meal and a stranger
gives them a look. And we could go on and on. The message that so often
tragically comes forth today is that you can add Jesus to your life and
pursuits, and it will cost you little in terms of laying down your life,
fitting around His Lordship, and putting to death the deeds of the flesh.
Many today have no comprehension that He mercifully saved them "for His
good pleasure." The Apostle Paul said that those of us who are born of
the Spirit "are not our own," for we belong to the Lord (1 Cor. 6:19).
Much of our Christianized culture encourages lukewarmness because lukewarm
is closer to hot than cold is, and therefore looks better and is more
acceptable. God help us!
Ladies, the Lord wants all of us: all of our lives, all of our motivations,
all of our devotion. He does not want us to allow anything to "rival"
Him in importance in our hearts and lives. It is not acceptable to Him
that we section Him off to a devotional time in the morning or a meeting
on a certain day of the week. He wants all of our day everyday! Nor is
it acceptable to Him that we go to sleep from time to time, becoming passive
of heart toward Him and His kingdom. He desires us engaged in active faith,
trusting Him in all things, seeking first His kingdom, pursuing His will
for our lives wholeheartedly, fervent in spirit, on our feet, on our face,
on the edge of our seat, always at the ready for whatever He has. Does
He forgive us when we give Him less than our all, hold to idols in our
heart, go to sleep, and become weighted down with the cares of this life?
Yes, He does. But is a partial life for Him what we are settling for,
or is our pursuit to follow Him completely? What does our life and choices
tell us? Let's aim to please Him in all respects, bearing fruit a hundred-fold!
This
brings us back to our day-to-day lives. We all know many of the things
the Lord wants us as women to do. If you are unsure, take a moment to
read Proverbs 31, 1 Peter 3, 1 Timothy 2 & 5, Titus 2, and other such
passages. How can we as women maintain such a heart and fervency in the
midst of housework, crying babies, homeschooling, dirty dishes, etc? In
Luke 10:38-42 we are told the story about Mary and Martha, and the Lord
Jesus' response to each of them that day. Mary chose to sit at Jesus'
feet and listen to what He had to say. She was engrossed in the Lord,
and He said she chose "the better part," that which was truly important
and of eternal significance. Martha, as we know, was very busy serving
the Lord. I'm sure everything she did was good and noble and truly hospitable.
But Jesus said she was "worried and bothered about so many things." Where
was Martha's heart? Fretting, busy, comparing (to Mary, v. 40), and preoccupied.
On the other hand, where was Mary's heart? On the Lord Jesus.
There
are many places in the scriptures, like those listed above, where women
are exhorted to serve, be workers at home, devoted to good works, love
their husband and children, be submissive, etc., etc. The standards for
women are very high, and the Lord calls us to all of these things. But
this calling is never to the neglect of our maintaining the heart of Mary,
and staying before Him in our hearts, even while vacuuming and changing
diapers. It is so easy to be tripped up and allow our heart's focus to
become consumed (i.e., "worried and bothered") with all these things-even
the very things the Lord has called us to do! Martha was, after all, busy
serving the Lord Himself! But her heart, at least on that particular day,
was far away from Him. Our hearts must stay at His feet, praying without
ceasing, seeking first His kingdom, saturated with His Holy Spirit.
Sisters,
believe me, I understand how what I am saying sounds impossible. We love
the idea of this, but the doing of it eludes us. However, the Lord never
calls us to that which He does not also enable us to do. In Matthew 13:33,
the Lord said, "The kingdom of heaven is like leaven, which a woman took,
and hid in three pecks of meal, until it was all leavened." The key word
here is "until." It takes time to become completely "leavened"
in our day-to-day walk with the kingdom of God. Our part is to continually
engage ourselves with His "leaven," daily "kneading" it into our hearts
and minds with our "all," regardless of whether our all is a "shallow
all" or a "deep "all." If we are faithful in this, He is more than faithful
to permeate our lives with the precious leaven of His kingdom, deepen
and enlarge our capacities for abiding in Him, and keep us awake and fervent
of heart.
Some
of you reading this may be saying, "Yes! Amen! But I have no idea where
to even start." Let me offer you some things I have found that really
help. Begin your day with the Lord. Take/make the time to come before
Him before your day gets going, and allow your heart to be quieted and
stilled before Him. Incline your ear to Him, whether He speaks anything
to you at that particular time or not. Simply wait before Him in alertness
and love and readiness and peace. Lay your day at His feet. Give Him your
list of things you need to do. If He has you pray for someone or something,
or read a particular scripture, follow His lead, but continue all the
while in that place of quiet waiting and listening.
But
now comes the critical next step: learn to abide in this place before
Him as you walk out the bedroom door and begin your day of functioning.
Don't leave the Lord in your bedroom or your "quiet time," walk on with
Him from there out into whatever your day holds. Learn to keep your heart
stilled and quieted and attentive before Him, regardless of what you are
doing. If that means you have to close your eyes while you stir the soup
or make more frequent trips to the bathroom simply to get somewhere where
you can resettle and refocus your heart on Him, do whatever it takes.
If you find yourself asleep in your heart, wake up and go on. Don't fret
around in guilt when you stumble, this will only hinder the deepening
process. Just confess it and go on. Remember, such "leavening" takes time.
One
of the most profound helps is singing to the Lord throughout the day.
Ephesians 5:18-19 says, ".be filled with the Spirit, speaking to one another
in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody with
your heart to the Lord." Sing to Him all through the day. Have your children
join with you. Allow the joy of the Lord to fill your heart. If you are
somewhere where singing out loud is not appropriate, then hum to the Lord!
I have found engaging my heart in humming to the Lord keeps the words
to the songs running through my mind, and, more importantly, helps me
stay in that place at His feet-fervent yet at peace, listening yet content,
awake and sober yet not heavy and sluggish. Also that Ephesians 5 passage
goes on to say "always giving thanks for all things in the Name of our
Lord Jesus Christ to God, even the Father" (v. 20). I have found that
truly "giving thanks for all things" goes hand-in-hand with growing in
my discernment of seeing the Lord's hand in all things, which, again,
helps my heart stay centered on/with Him.
One
word of caution and warning: In your learning to do this, beware of developing
a heart-posture of pushing away any and everything that distracts
simply because your capacity for abiding before the Lord throughout your
day is small, and you feel like you're drowning in a sea of distractions.
You will inadvertently end up pushing away your husband, your children,
your home, the saints, and things that are good. The goal here is to learn
to abide before the Lord with a quieted heart in the midst
of dealing with and relating to all these necessary things.
Of course if something is truly a distraction, don't hesitate to "nip
it in the bud" or otherwise deal with it decisively (you can always push
away the influences of the world). Beware of engaging in "worldly and
empty chatter," whether in person or on the telephone, for this will get
you off real fast. If you listen to the radio or watch television, take
note of whether or not they draw you away from this place, for they easily
can and will. Don't hesitate to question your investment of attention
or time in anything that draws your heart away from the Lord or lulls
you to sleep.
Ladies,
let us continually give our all to our precious Lord, whose Name is Jealous,
and bring joy to His heart in doing so!
Kindling Publications
6303 CR 233
Tyler, Texas 75707-3147 USA
www.KindlingPublications.com