Leviticus 21-22

Matthew 28

“I the LORD search the heart and examine the mind, to reward each person according to their conduct, according to what their deeds deserve.” Jeremiah 17:10

When I (Brett McBride) was dating my wife, Stephanie, we had a long-distance relationship. She lived in Philadelphia, USA, and I lived in Toronto, Canada. Twice a month, I would get off work around 7 p.m. on Friday night and drive all the way down to Philadelphia to see her, arriving around 3 a.m. We would spend all day together on Saturday and go to church on Sunday, have lunch and then I would drive all the way back home. It took about nine hours to get down there, so I spent about 18 hours driving to spend about 30 hours with her.

Now, why would someone do that? Because I was devoted to Stephanie; I was in love with her. I wanted to orient my schedule around spending time with her. When we could not see each other, we would phone one another. Now, this was before smartphones with free calling apps; I had a rotary-dial phone and was charged long distance for my calls. I would be on the phone with Stephanie late into the evening, even though we both had work the next day. Why? Because we were devoted; we were in love with each other. When it came time for us to hang up, we would go, “You hang up.” “No, you hang up.” “No, you hang up.” When I got my phone bill, I was like, “I can’t believe I spent $20 on ‘No, you hang up.’” But why were we doing that? Because our love for one another created a devotion to wanting to be with each other.

As we consider our own lives, what is the object of our devotion? What is at the centre of our life? If we were to review this past week, this past month or even this past year, how have we organized and spent our time? What are the things that we spent thinking about, worrying about or focusing on? Where is our time, talent and treasure going? What do the activities that we engage in illustrate about the object of our devotion—is it Christ or is it something else?

This is not to say that we can only be devoted to one thing. We all have multiple devotions in our lives. For example, we are devoted to our family as spouses and parents. If we are in school, we devote a certain amount of time and energy to our studies. Or in our careers, we devote ourselves to building certain skills and qualities. What I am asking is what is underneath all that we are devoted to? What is at the core of our life, deep in the inner core where our motivations and values reside?

Father God, examine my heart to see where my motivation and values reside. I want to live a life devoted to You in all that I do. Help me Lord, thank You.