I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean; I will
cleanse you from all your impurities and from all your idols. (Ezekiel 36:25
NIV)
Then you will remember your evil ways and wicked deeds, and you will
loathe yourselves for your sins and detestable practices. (Ezekiel 36:31 NIV)
As
I meditated on this section of scripture I found myself looking back, loathing
myself for my past sin but, knowing I have been cleansed by the blood of Jesus,
I was able to be thankful for all God has brought me out of. I looked back on
all the expectations I had to set aside so I could love certain people in my
life and it hit me.... “I will cleanse you from all your impurities and
from all your idols.” An entirely new word replaced expectations and
that word was idols. I could look at these “expectations” for my
parents, my sister, my in-laws, my husband, and many more and see that these
were not just innocent expectations in my life these were clearly idols.
“I
am the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery.
“You shall have no other gods before me. (Deuteronomy 5:6, 7 NIV)
'You shall not make for yourself an idol...” (Deuteronomy 5:8 NASB)
“You
shall have no other gods before me... You shall not make for yourself an idol.”
Anything I put before God is an idol in my life. 1 John 4:8 says, “...God is love.” If God is
in my heart and above everything else in my life, LOVE is what will spill out
of me. If I have to set anything aside so that I am free to love with that
godly love, that thing I had to set aside is an idol in my life. No matter what
word I choose to call it.
I
said I had to set aside my expectations so I could love. What was keeping me from loving with a godly
love? Expectation. So now as I looked
back on my past my grief and loathing took on a whole new light because what I
saw was a trail of fallen idols not just expectation. God opened my eyes through
His word and by His Spirit He helped me to really see.
Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and
gave Himself for her, that He might sanctify and cleanse her with the washing
of water by the word, (Ephesians 5:25, 26 NKJV)
Expectation.
What else or who else do I tend to assign a given set of expectations to? My children. I have been asking myself these
questions trying to weed out unhealthy expectations for my children. Is my
discipline out of an unmet expectation or to teach them obedience to God and to
love Him with all their heart, mind, soul, and strength? Is my expectation for my children to be well
behaved and respectful so that they reflect well on me? Or do I want them to be
well behaved so that I am not inconvenienced in having to discipline them?
But because they served them in the presence of their idols and made
the people of Israel fall into sin, therefore I have sworn with uplifted hand
that they must bear the consequences of their sin, declares the Sovereign Lord.
(Ezekiel 44:12 NIV)
Am
I serving my children in the presence of an idol that I label “expectation”? Is my service to my children sending them in
a direction to meet my expectations or to love and serve the Lord? What picture of God’s love do I set before my
children each day? Am I like the priests
of Israel who led the people into sin because they served the people in the
presence of idols?
Father God, I do not want to lead my children to sin
because of my idols. I pray that you
would make them clear to me. Give me discernment and strength and rid my heart
of any idols. I want an idol free life that serves with only a whole-hearted
devotion in Your presence. Thank you for loving me no matter the condition of
my heart. Thank You for how far You have brought me and how far You are yet to
take me. I long to serve ever and only in Your presence.
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