Thursday, June 14, 2012

What's Your One Thing?

That is the question that I have been asking myself for several months now.

It came from the lyrics of Matt Papa's song:

One Thing





Phil 1:20, Psalm 145:13, 46:10

For Erick there was one thing, one thing and nothing more

That moved his growing family to the slums of Bangalore

For Becca there was one thing, one thing that kept her home

She gave up her career to take an orphan in her arms

What would make a man so bold

Make a woman lay her own life down

Only one thing






Jesus Christ, Magnified

All over the world

Lifted High, glorified

All over the world

Only One thing

Is Worth everything

Jesus Christ, Magnified

All over the world






For David there was one thing he gave his life to preach

His church in China meets in secret growing every week

For Ruby there was one thing that kept her in the choir

It hurt to stand at 90 but she worshipped with a smile

What would make a man so bold

Make a woman lay her own life down

only one thing

Bridge:

For us now there is one thing

A choice that we all have

Living for our kingdoms or the only one that lasts...





Best CD ever! Thank you Shay for giving it to Andrew and thank you Andrew for letting it live in my car!

The lyric that haunts me doesn't actually appear in the words above....but Matt sort of asks the question under his breath towards the end of the song.  The question that has been running though my head day after day after day....

"What's your one thing?"



I've been told often and by many loving, well meaning, Christians.....oh you are fine. You do plenty.  He doesn't expect anything else of you.  However, I disagree.  It is so easy to become complacent in my walk with the Lord....yet I can't.  I must not.  I can't let my busyness be an excuse for not chasing hard after the Lord. 

He doesn't want part of me.  He doesn't want the left overs.  He wants all of me.  He wants to be my one thing.


What is my one thing?  Homeschooling....nope.  My family......no.....but give me two things.....and yep.  My work.....no way.  My house....naw. My friends, my reputation, my blog, facebook, books, Denny and Debra (ha, ha.....and you thought I was going to say the Reyner's....that was for you D :) ).....all of these matter to me....but are they my one thing?

I don't want them to be.

I want my one thing to be Jesus Christ magnified all over the world.....the gospel. I want it to be lived out in my parenting.  I want it to be lived out in my relationships.  I want it to be lived out in my school.  I want it to be lived out in my interactions with the lost.  I want it to be lived out in my work......in my words.....in the world and behind closed doors and in the secret places of my heart.  I want it to be my one thing.

Yet it is not.   He is not.  I get task oriented.  I get stuck on my checklist.  I sin.  I get angry.  I have bad attitudes.  I am selfish.  Yet I learned recently in a way I never had thought of before that sin does NOT have dominion over me. For him to be magnified I have to die to sin and self.   I do not HAVE to sin.  I am saved.  Sin no longer has power over me.  I CHOSE to sin.  My battle is against the world, the devil, and here is the biggie: My Flesh!  The world and the devil are outside forces....the problem is my flesh is an inside force.  It betrays me.  That is why I like Paul do what I do not want to do...and keep on doing it. 

I have got to work at killing the sin in my own life.  Yes work at it.  Not ignore it.  Not accept it.  Not excuse it. Not compare it to the sin I see in others.  I have to kill the root of sin in my own life.  How do I do this?  I don't.  It is the work of the Holy Spirit.  It is yielding to his control.  It is living in his power.  It is dying to self.  Ahhh.....and there is the rub.  If I want him to be my one thing.....that means my kids aren't, my family isn't, my self isn't, my goals aren't,  my list isn't.....it means he is.  Other things certainly matter.....but I want him to be my one thing.

So that is my prayer.  That I would be aware of the sin in my life and that I would cooperate with the Holy Spirit in the sanctification process.....and oh what a process it is! So he's  not my one thing....but oh I sure do want to want him to be....does that count?

So this begs the question......What's Your One Thing?

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