Reverence and Awe

Morning:

My soul, search thyself this morning, and see whether thou art guilty of double-dealing. Thou professest to be a follower of Jesus—dost thou truly love him? Is thy heart right with God? Art thou of the family of old Father Honest, or art thou a relative of Mr. By-ends? A name to live is of little value if I be indeed dead in trespasses and sins. To have one foot on the land of truth, and another on the sea of falsehood, will involve a terrible fall and a total ruin. Christ will be all or nothing.

I've been thinking more and more about what it means, and what it looks like to truly follow what Jesus said and "seek first the Kingdom of God". I think this mornings reading gives us the admonition to put Christ first, because if you don't you'll be letting someone or something else share the throne of your heart. Thus making Christ not too highly esteemed, but quite ordinary; and also making your heart one that is divided in it's loyalty. Search yourself this morning, and pray against your inclination to put things before the Kingdom of God.

Evening:

The cross must be carried before the crown can be worn. We must follow our Lord in his humiliation, or we shall never rest with him in glory. My soul, what sayest thou, art thou so vain as to hope to break through the heavenly rule? Dost thou hope for reward without labour, or honour without toil? Dismiss the idle expectation, and be content to take the ill-favoured things for the sake of the sweet love of Jesus, which will recompense thee for all.

We must take on not only the wonderful and all satisfying blessings that come with faith in Christ, but we also must deal with the hard negatives preached by Christ, such as: you must die to yourself, and take up your cross daily. We must always remember that God works all things together for good, for those who believe and are called according to His purpose. But also remember that that doesn't mean that everything that happens to that end will be "good". But let us never lose faith in our God of hope. He is faithful, and He will do it.