I had an interesting talk with God one day on my way to work recently.
I was pouring out my heart, telling Him how tired I was, how frustrated
I was, trying my best to get a little love and comfort. (Yes, I was
feeling sorry for myself). Know what the Father said? 'Stop flirting
with me.' I said, 'What are you talking about? Flirting? Who's
flirting? (Insert huge mental picture of me back peddling here) I'm
always trying to stay in contact with you...He replied, 'Contact yes,
committed on all levels...no.' Bam! Talk about right between the eyes.
Father God had just gently rebuked me of 'service innuendos', those coy
attempts of intimacy with Him. In the process reminding me that He
won't settle for a quaint rendezvous, when He desires a passionate
relationship. The Father doesn't want mere contact, but deep abiding
relational commitment from His sons and daughters.
I realized that I sometimes dance around that relational commitment as
if it was a trap set for me, afraid of putting my full weight on it for
fear of falling through some hidden opening leading to my destruction.
My selfish desire is to stay just close enough to be 'safe' but not
dive in without reservation. It is like the quote above,
'Flirtation: attention without intention.' That is, to talk
or behave devotedly, without serious purpose backing up those words or
actions.
The truth is that, in my heart, I don't want a mere love affair with
God; an affair implies a temporary fling, a tryst that requires no
enduring commitment on my part. No, this relationship requires covenant
commitment, allowing my heart to be spent on Him, leaving nothing in
reserve for anything else. I don't want to 'hit' on God, treating Him
like some prize to be won. That would cheapen the price He has paid for
us to have a close and deep relationship with Him.
What does this relational commitment look like? It looks like Jesus,
the purpose and passion He put into serving the Father out of love.
Jesus loved 'heavenly' things, things that related back to His Father.
Serving, loving, putting others first, the things of heaven fleshed out
through the relationship of Father and Son on earth.
The Lord fully understood that flirting with God would also mean that
we'd flirt with other 'gods' as well. That's the real danger, that our
affection we fall on something other than Him. That's why we find this
encouragement in His Word.
'Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth.' Colossians 3:2
The words 'set' and 'affection' in this verse are the Greek words
phroneo and phronema. Phronema is usually translated as 'mind' and
refers to our thoughts, emotions, and desires. In this verse the word
appears twice in the text for emphasis. So, set your thoughts!
Think! Think, on things above, not on things on the earth. God wants us
to love 'things above', the things that are from His heart. He wants
our thoughts, emotions, and desires to revolve around them.
These are the things of higher significance, eternal not temporal which encourages us to pursue
God with all we have.
Revolving around 'things above' means simply loving with God's purpose,
loving with His passion, in spite of our earthiness. It's having the
mind of Christ, who understood His position and place because of the
relationship with the Father. The 'things above' are 'Fatherly' things
like impartation, inspiration, and the intentional placing of value
into the life of others. The Heavenly Father deposits generational
promise through 'things above' giving us hope in the future even in the
midst of earthly circumstances. It's in this place, in this position,
one of total sold-out commitment, that we find our relationship with
Him sweeter than ever before.
'The enjoyment of [God] is the only happiness with which our souls can
be satisfied. ... Fathers and mothers, husbands, wives, or children, or
the company of earthly friends are but shadows, but enjoyment of God is
the substance. These are but scattered beams, but God is the sun. These
are but streams, but God is the fountain. These are but drops, but God
is the ocean.'
- Jonathan Edwards
Blessings,
Jay
A father of seven,
Jay Cookingham has been happily married to his wife Christine for 22
years. Although trained as a graphic designer, Jay has been writing
poetry, short stories and articles for as long as he can remember. A
featured columnist at Fatherville.com
, Christianwriters.com
,ibelieve.com
,and
Crossmap.com ,
he also writes a weekly e-mail newsletter for fathers. His "Seven
Promises from Your Husband" was featured on the Ken Canfield's radio
program Today's Father
. Recently published in the God's Way series for Fathers, the
series for Teachers and Christmas.godswaybooks.com , He
is currently writing his first book on the subject of fathering.
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