We Are Dissipated

^“Catch for us the foxes,

the little foxes

that ruin the vineyards,

our vineyards that are in bloom.”

-- Song of Songs 2:15

A recent conversation . . .

          Me: “Can you talk, eat dinner, and text a friend all at the same time?”

          A Brother: “Yes, I can.”

          Me: “Which one are you concentrating on?”

          A Brother: “None of them.”

My wife and I have three kids.  I know exactly how the two lovers in our scripture from Song of Songs feel.  Don’t get me wrong – I love my kids, but there are times when I just want to be alone with my wife, Rebecca, without any distractions.  I want to take my time and get it right.

Now that may sound like too much information, but if I feel that way about my wife how much more does Jesus feel about me?  You do know that Jesus has feelings, right? 

Jesus has feelings for you. 

And, while they are not sexual feelings, they are passionate feelings of love for me and for YOU.  Jesus not only loves you, but is in love with you.  Jesus isn’t some sort of emotionally frigid robot that’s so busy keeping the universe going that he doesn’t have time for you.  Jesus LOVES you, and he doesn’t hold anything back from you.  It’s not unreasonable for someone in love to want to spend time with the one they love, is it?  Truly, the depths of the Lord’s passion for us, his bride, are unfathomable.  So, what does that mean?  It means that  . . .

Jesus wants our “free” time.

The Lord doesn’t want all of our “free” time (he’s not unreasonable), but he definitely wants most of it.  And, he most definitely wants access to us whenever and wherever he wants.  You see . . .

The World, the Flesh, and the Devil don’t want me to spend time with Jesus.

The World, the Flesh, and the Devil are screamers!  Everything they do is BIG, LOUD, and FLASHY.  They shout at me, “WILL YOU LOOK AT THAT!”  My answer is, “I’m not interested in wind and waves – I’m interested in Jesus.”

The World, the Flesh, and the Devil are whisperers.  Everything they do is a whisper in the dark, a play on words, a suggestive glance.  They whisper in my ear, “You just need to ‘veg out’ – it’s been a hard day.”  My answer is, “Oh, good now that I’m weak, Jesus is strong.”

The Bible is right. 

The Bible is correct. 

The Bible is true.

“You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them, because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world.”-- 1 John4:4

But, The World, the Flesh, and the Devil don’t have to be greater – they only have to dissipate my attention and make me sluggish.  They only have to keep me from the one person who matters – Jesus.  They only have to keep me from the one thing that matters – loving Jesus.  They only have to keep me from the one action that matters – obeying Jesus.  The World will be destroyed by fire.  The Flesh will be transformed at the resurrection, and the Devil knows that he’ll be thrown into the lake of fire, but they can try to delay all of that if I don’t have my spirit, soul, and body given over to loving Jesus.

Please, please, please I’m begging you not to misunderstand me. 

I’m not saying all is lost or everything is bad.  If you’ll notice, I didn’t name one specific item of dissipation.  I’m not saying that you should never have a relaxing moment when you are just watching TV.  I’m not saying that I have it all together, or that I have all the answers, but what I am saying is this . . .

The Spirit of Jesus living inside of YOU right now is sweeter.

Jesus is sweeter than anything the World, the Flesh, and the Devil have to offer.  I’m saying that the lover of your soul living within you really is greater.  I’m saying that you are glorious because you have the King of Glory living in you!  Let’s turn from the distractions and give Jesus the attention he deserves.

Let me close in prayer:

Daddy, I come to you in Jesus’ name, and I ask that as everyone who reads this post chooses to spend time with you that you would sweep them off of their feet and show them the passionate love you have for them.  I receive it in Jesus’ name – Amen.