Jesus, Our Perfect Friend
“At that time the disciples came to Jesus, saying, “Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?” And calling to him a child, he put him in the midst of them and said, “Truly, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.” Matthew 18:1-4
The older we get, the more childlike we should become. Sadly, along the way of our modern church history, this lost its attainability. It lost its tastefulness. In many cases, the older we become as Christians the more calloused our hearts become, the more structured we are, and the more rigid our beliefs about God are. I believe this grieves the Lord's heart.
Let me remind you of the days that maybe were. Do you remember when you first got saved? Attending every prayer and worship night you could find, locking away to read your Bible, asking everyone who you thought knew God every dumb question you could think of? Do you remember these days? Maybe they are a distant memory, maybe you never experienced that at all. That’s okay. Maybe somewhere along the way, the fire of your heart grew dim. In your journey of discovering the Lord's hearts you put a foot on the brakes in search of things more “practical”. Maybe other goals were thrown at you: the pursuit of a career, your family, and your vision for how you wanted your life to look. Maybe in some seasons, you had expectations that did not quite turn out how you thought they should have. Maybe along the way you made it about merely agreeing with what God agrees with, knowing what he knows, rather than feeling what He feels. The list goes on.
Don’t you miss the heart that was burning with wonder? The heart that was sensitive to his presence and that leaped when you discovered the mysteries of his word? He is calling you. The Lord makes a dramatic statement in scripture where he says: “Above all else, guard your heart” (Proverbs 4:23 NIV). God put this there because he knows if we are not careful, our hearts will turn on him without us even knowing it. That’s a scary thing to think about, but if we’re honest with God and ourselves maybe we find ourselves just in that place. We’ve all been there. But, maybe as you’re reading this, the Lord is wooing you, calling you back to your ‘first love’. He is reminding you of something that was once or something deep down you’ve always wanted.
Let me encourage you. Only Jesus can satisfy your soul. Exploring His heart is the greatest reward this life will offer. This is more attainable than you may realize— He is closer than you think. And maybe as you’re reading this you’re thinking what does this practically look like, this whole falling back in love with Jesus thing? What do I need to do?!
Jesus makes it extremely simple, He says that for Him to increase, you must first decrease. Those forever will work hand in hand.
Let me tell you something friend, the Holy Spirit is more practical than you will ever be. He will teach you down to every detail what that looks like if you’ll simply let Him. The only thing you have to do is surrender. The Bible says in 1 Samuel 2:30 that if you honor God, he will honor you. Pretty straightforward. So, if you mean business with God, He will mean business with you.
Lovingly I tell you, you cannot have all of God until he first has all of you. Full surrender is not a small issue in the heart of God, it is central. Luckily, Jesus is a gentleman and He will not force you to give him everything. He waits rather patiently, holding back the floodgates of His heart waiting for you to first open yours.
So, if you make that step of truly giving him every inch of your heart, leaving nothing untouchable to Him, you will laugh as to why you did not do it sooner. And you will truly encounter the one that your soul loves, the one your heart cries for.
Maybe you’re 19 years old and reading this, or maybe you're 60— it doesn’t matter. You will never graduate from being his Son or Daughter. God loves you too much to settle for second place in your life, He longs to become for you life itself. The hope that you cling to. He wants to become your greatest desire, your deepest pursuit, and your highest calling.
He is calling you back to the basics. He is searching hearts, looking for the needy, so that He can reveal himself more to them. Now go, go and be with Him. Block out time on your busy schedule to be alone with the one who knows you best. Treat Him like the person He is and open up your heart to him— you will not regret it. He is calling you deeper, and He is worth it.
Devotional written by: Richman Priestley, Triumph of Hope Volunteer
The past few years, the Lord has led me on a journey of uncovering the treasures hidden in the name of Jesus, and it has been a glorious experience. It has been an honor not only to unveil the mystery behind this powerful name but also to witness its transformative power.