Bible Passage: “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant looking for fine pearls. When he found one of great value, he went away and sold everything he had and bought it.” (Matthew 13:45-46)
Scripture Reading: Matthew 13:1-58
“Tell me, what is it your plan to do with your one wild and precious life?”[1]
We live in an age of immediacy and abundance. Skip the Dishes means you can dine out without even going out. Grocery stores are reliably full. Minutes, hours, and whole days disappear into algorithmically guided expeditions through unknown territories on Instagram, YouTube, and Netflix. Cellphones offer us cheap hits of dopamine that stave off boredom and existential thought.
We’re busy, too. Retirees, college students, and young parents alike testify to their endless busyness.
In this age of busyness, abundance, and immediacy, it’s easy to live instinctually. We chase pleasures and flee pain.
Why bother cultivating a devotional life or living a devoted life? Why do the hard work of getting beyond our instincts and considering what we’ll do with our “one, wild, and precious life?”
Jesus meets us where we are and tells us stories of…
- …a governor who is forgiven a serious crime and refuses to forgive minor ones (Matthew 18:21-35)
- …a white collar CEO who cheated the sole shareholder of their company (Luke 16:1-15)
- …a foolish man who buried money in the ground (Matthew 25:14-30)
Suddenly, we feel foolish for resenting our spouse, boss, and parent. We realize wealth is illusory. We know that a life of scrolling and endless entertainment is a wasted life.
We start to watch Jesus.
We see His strange leper-touching, Sabbath-breaking (renewing?), Pharisee-confronting, disciple-rebuking ways. We’re left confused, inspired, hungry for His Kingdom, and afraid of the cost.
Gentlemen, Jesus has far less interest in your devotions than in the eternal, devoted life devotions are meant to lead to.
This week isn’t about you ticking off more items on a religious “to-do” list; it’s about choosing disciplines to help you live with Him.
Jesus will teach you to love, and He’ll fill you with His joy. He never said the way would be easy, but He did say it would be worth it.
Put down your phone. Stop living on instinct alone. Don’t live like an animal pursuing pleasure and fleeing pain. Fix your eyes on Him. Follow.
The Jesus who wept over Jerusalem and wooed with stories of an astonishingly good Father is inviting men to keep cultivating the kind of devotional life that leads to a devoted life in Him.
Prayer: Lord, keep leading me into a more devoted life. I’m scared. I doubt. I believe. I’m inspired. I long for Your Kingdom to come and Your will to be done around me, in me, and through me. Make it so, and show me my next steps. Amen.
Reflection: Is your devotional life increasingly established? What’s next? Is it leading to a more devoted life? What’s God saying to you through the devotions this week?
[1] Poem 133, “The Summer Day” by Mary Oliver
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