Devotion

One only has so much time in life. There is a limited window of opportunity in which to exist, and hopefully more than that – to impact. This means that one can only devote themself to a limited number of things.

Devotion is a strong word. It implies complete dedication to another’s cause, to believe in the other to the utmost extent, a trust that the other has only good in mind for them, a willingness to do anything for the other, even to the point of death. To care for the other, to love the other. It necessitates the spending of large quantities of time in service to the other.

Some people are devoted to objects or actions. Some are devoted to a particular sport. They spend their time playing it, they believe in its cause, and they will give up anything to play it.

More often than not, a person will have a small circle of people they are devoted to. Their spouse for one. Sometimes the only one. When two people are married, it is implied that they are completely devoted to one another. They are completely dedicated to one another’s cause, they believe in the other person fully, knowing that whatever battles they face they will win. There is no doubt there. There is only assurance because of their belief in the other person’s strength. There is a willingness to do anything for the other – to spend all of their time on them, to do things they find boring or distasteful for them, or even die for them if it comes to that.

But for a Christian there is One that we devote ourselves to. And He is not finite and faulty like our spouse or our close friends. Nor does He require most of our time. He requires all of our time. He requires our lives. Every moment should be a testament of our devotion to Him. That is what being a Christian is.

This does not mean that we are not devoted to anything else. God is a wonderful God. While devotion to Him means complete dedication of all of our time, this does not mean that all of our time must be in communication just with Him. While much of our time must be spent alone with Him, we show our devotion by showing devotion to others. But let us choose those people or things we are devoted to carefully. We have limited time. It is simply impossible to be devoted to all of your friends. Impossible to be devoted to all of your favorite activities. But let us model our devotion to others on our devotion to God.

Devotion doesn’t just happen. Ever. It is a choice. It involves effort. But neither can you merely choose something or someone to be devoted to. They must choose you just as much as you choose them. Infinite effort towards a random person will not render devotion, because devotion springs only from the heart.

Devotion sounds like a soft word. It sounds mushy and gushy. But true devotion is one of the strongest, toughest things that we can show. So the challenge is to devote yourselves to worthy things or people. Devote yourself primarily to God, but those earthly things that you devote yourself to, do it with a pure heart and with all of your might.