NorthStar Community Daily Devotional

May 6

Scripture focus: For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love he predestined us for adoption to Sonship through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will – to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves. Ephesians 1:4-6 NIV

Living out who God says I am – holy and blameless – is impossible. I can’t do it. Here’s why. I passionately desire things that are incongruent with my Image Bearing identity. I have doubts about my ability to be holy and blameless. I completely believe that unless and until I fully embrace God’s intentions for my life I will be adrift in a sea of discontent. I’m in a pickle.

I passionately want things that make no sense. Recently, I’ve been lusting after moving my laundry room from the garage to the second floor of my house. My gosh, I want this so bad you’d think it would change the world. As soon as I don’t need to schlep dirty and clean clothes up and down stairs, what exactly do I think will happen? Will it cure the common cold, end poverty, cause the world to stop their fighting? Decrease wrinkles, brown spots and others signs of aging? I don’t think so. I’m still going to have to do laundry. It will need sorting and folding and even ironing. I can leave wet clothes in the washer for a week upstairs as easily as I have in the garage. I’m old enough to know that I’m going to love this project with a passion until it is completed and then it’ll be just another room where I go to do what I hate – wash clothes. This laundry room is a decent idea that will save some time and make life a tiny bit more convenient. But it will never help me achieve a holy and a blameless life.

If I am going to have any hope of becoming like Jesus (who bore the image of his daddy), I need to trust Him with everything that is true about me, including my passionate pursuit of a laundry room renovation. So here’s my deal. I want to be chosen by God without having to trust him with all of me. Trusting God means telling the truth – this obsession with a laundry room is serious business; I must acknowledge to God my idolatrous ways. I keep thinking the good life is convenient. I want what I want. This is a spiritual malady. It won’t get you locked up in the county jail or result in Social Services coming and taking my kid to foster care, but it is not holy. It is not blameless.

Identifying where I look for treasure will help me discover my idols.

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