Duty or Devotion?
By Mike Rule

Often as believers our lives become characterized by striving for greater levels of obedience and duty to the Lord. We work hard to accomplish all that God's word tells us we should. We preach hard telling others all they should be doing because they have Christ. The Christian life becomes a pyramid of effort that we are clawing our way to the top of.

Isaiah 28:12 & 13 says, "¹² This is a resting place, let the weary rest." And "This is a place of repose." But they would not listen. ¹³So then the word of the Lord to them will become, "Do and do, do and do, rule on rule, rule on rule, a little here, a little there," So that they might go and fall backward, be injured, captured and snared."

Paul tells us in Galatians that it is for freedom that Christ has set us free. We are to stand firm and not let ourselves be burdened by a yoke of slavery. He admonishes us to not get caught up in the external signs of religion, but to press on toward the goal of seeing Christ revealed in us! He challenges us to embrace Christ in faith, trusting Him to do what we could never do ourselves. The only thing that counts is faith! We will know we are embracing Christ in faith when we see it being demonstrated through our lives in love - love for God, and love for our neighbor! (Galatians 5)

Jesus is challenging us today to surrender our own efforts and walk by faith. Faith does not generate God's work; it can only receive it. Faith that tries to generate God's work takes the believer down the road of duty and works where there is no joy and no peace. We fall backward, are injured (hurt), captured and snared by (in bondage to) the very things we thought were going to set us free. This is not faith in the God that really is, but faith in a performance-based God of our own making.

Faith that is willing to receive God's work and let His life flow through as a result, is a life of devotion and love. We are like a prism. When a prism tries to generate light, nothing happens. But when the prism rests, basks in the light and receives, it displays beauty for all to see. When you rest and receive, everyone around you will behold the Glory of the Lord as expressed through the very unique prism of your personality.

Duty to God says "I must do." Devotion to God says "I want to!" Duty is work; devotion is rest. Which is easier? Many fall into the trap of impatience and demand duty of themselves and others. We cannot wait, so try to generate. The greatest challenge for us today is to wait upon the Lord and trust Him to do what we ultimately could never do on our own. "Trust in the Lord with all your heart and do not rely on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him and He will direct your paths. Do not be wise in your own eyes…" (Proverbs 3:5-7a)

Next week we will look more at this (see Overabundance article).  I want to be very clear that I am not speaking of passivity here but rather an active rest that is allowing God to transform the very roots of our lives.