Devotion: Or lack of!

I think some times we "believe" in our children, more than we "believe" Jesus is Lord. Think about it. We believe in our kids so much that we will make so many sacrifices to support their desires and help them to suceed in life. Take sports for instance. If my son loved basketball, and wanted to excel at the sport, I would believe in him and would devote myself to teaching him the game. I would drive him to practices, I would drive him to games, I would get out in the driveway and do drills, and study the sport and other players, all in order to make him a better basketball player. I would believe in him, and his passion and would devote myself to helping him reach his goal. I would buy new shoes when needed, I would buy him a top of the line ball, I would film his games so he can study them later. Because I love him and am proud of him, I would do everything I could with all my passion to see that he gets what he needs in order to play at a high level and "be somebody". I wouldn't just say, "I believe in you son" and then never take him to practice or games. Or tell him that his old Chuck Taylor skateboard shoes should do fine for basketball also. Or spend any time with him preparing and studying in order to improve. Saying I believe in my son, and his dreams, would mean absolutely nothing if I did not genuinely support him and have a devotion for helping him. People would ask me, what's your son want to do when he get's older? And I would say he is going to play professional basketball. And they would say, "oh wow, you must work with him daily and devote a lot of time to getting him to practice and games". And I would just be like, "well I believe in him. I know he can do it. I have faith and confidence in him. He's my son! He can do anything he puts his mind to!" Do I really believe in him, if I show no devotion to helping him accomplish what he is passionate about doing?

I'm not sure this analogy is making sense at this point, but what I am saying is that MANY say they believe that Jesus is Lord. They say they are a Christian. Christian literally means "follower of Christ". So how can we say we are Christian and we believe in Jesus, yet have NO devotion for truly following Christ? I'm not talking about living a perfect life. I'm talking about looking like a "follower of Christ" more than just another person in the world. Does driving to Church on Sunday morning and engaging in a sincere worship time and listening to a sermon about how the Bible can be relevant in my life today, define what devotion means? Are we truly devoted to following Christ? Are we truly trying to walk as Jesus walked. Are we studying to show ourselves approved to God? Believing in Jesus and that he died to save us from our sin and the wrath of God, is important. But even the demons believe and tremble. Do we tremble? If we truly believe, there will be a devotion. A devotion to knowing the Word of God. A devotion to being separated from sin. A devotion to being Holy as He is Holy. A devotion to proclaiming the Gospel unashamedly. A devotion to leading our families in a biblical way. Just a devotion, period. How can we claim to be "followers of Christ", yet show no devotion to actually following by doing the things that Christ did? Check out this definition of devotion: Passionate, often selfless affection and dedication, as to a person or principle. So the same kind of passion we show when at our kids softball or baseball game. The same passion we show for our favorite football team, or American Idol contestant, or Nascar driver. The same excitement that some show for muscular wrestlers, or immodestly dressed cheerleaders. The same passion that some have for nice cars, and nice houses, and expensive jewelry. Do we have that type of passion and devotion for being a follower of Christ? I'd say no. Think about how worthless the term Christian as we use it today is. When 75% of Americans claim to be Christian. I am guilty of lack of devotion. I am examining myself as I write this. I hope you will examine yourself too. I know this type of devotion for Jesus sounds radical. But Jesus is worthy of it!