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But I am afraid, lest as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, your minds should be led astray from the simplicity and purity of devotion to Christ.
(II Corinthians 11:3)
We enter this life with no interest in Jesus Christ. Depending on how we are raised, we may not know anything about him. Even if we hear about him, few grow up with an interest in knowing him. Most of us are ignorant about Jesus Christ, though some feel hostile towards him. Some of us grow up going to church because that is what the family does or because our parents make us go. Some go because it seems like what we were supposed to do. Those who attend church may think of activities and some standard stories, but at this stage none of us claim to be devoted to Christ or really even interested in him. Any interest we express is based on a selfish desire for what we think Christ might do, rather than on Jesus himself. Yet, the majority of us do not have even a selfish interest in him. We are actually devoted only to ourselves.
For us to become his disciples, somewhere along the way we begin to notice Christ. Maybe we hear something about him which makes him seem a bit more interesting. We cannot put our finger on what it is, but we find ourselves drawn to him (John 12:32). Maybe a story about him strikes a chord within us so that we want to know a little more about this man named Jesus. The transformation begins when the draw of Christ in our heart leads us to pursue him (John 1:35-39). Our first steps toward him may come from curiosity, or it could be that we are impacted by his transforming power touching our life or the life of someone we know. Whatever the reason we are drawn to him, the Bible says it is God who is drawing us to Christ (John 6:44; John 6:65). We want to know more about this man from Galilee and figure out why he stirs such love and devotion from some and hatred from others. We know of no one else like him or anyone who said the things he said. Unless we are willing to invest time exploring who he is and what he claims, we cannot know more about this man called Jesus. At this point Christ seems interesting, though we do not yet know him nor are we devoted to him.
An interesting thing occurs without our even realizing it, as we investigate who Jesus is, we are challenged by his life, his claims, what he taught, and even people's reactions to him. Sometimes what he said resonates with us, and we begin to adjust our life to his teachings. Other times, what Jesus said rocks our world, challenging how we view life, the world, and our choices. Such a challenge is a crossroad in which we must decide whether we will trust Jesus, thus altering us significantly, or walk away thinking his teaching is too hard and that we do not want to follow him anymore (John 6:60-66). But since we are maturing in Christ we choose to continue following him no matter how hard his teaching may be (John 6:67-69) and no matter what it costs us (Matthew 19:29; Mark 10:30; Luke 14:26). Perhaps we cannot explain why we choose to keep following, but we do. It is those decisive moments, our choices reveal whether we are learning to be fully devoted to Christ. Choosing to follow Jesus feels like a battle because there is a spiritual battle aiming to keep us from the light of Christ (John 3:19-21). The battle includes whether we will ask the Lord to change our heart, character, and priorities. He may want to remove things that we value, but we resist because we are not ready or willing for that to happen. The path Jesus leads us upon goes counter to the ways of the world, and is another point of battle. The closer we get to Christ, the more things we notice are at odds with where he wants to lead us. Friends and family may think we are crazy, some may see us as a "religious fanatic" and others may say that it is a fad. As the battles rage in our heart and mind we sense Jesus drawing us to himself. We want to know him more; to know him in the fullness of who he is. Therefore we fight through our decisions, feelings, emotions, and priorities, unaware of the spiritual battle that is taking place. It is a battle centered on whether we will believe God and trust Him completely, or deny Him and turn away just like what happened in the Garden of Eden (Genesis 3:1-6). During this period of growth, many situations can be a battleground, especially when we have a life transforming choice to make. Such moments test our devotion. Will we be devoted to Jesus or something else? Will we be faithful to Christ or seek to please ourselves? It is not the frequency of our choices that reveals where our devotion lies, it is where we put our faith in each choice we make. Faith in Christ is most evident in those choices that reveal we are continually surrendering to him. In this growth phase, the conflict may be between the things of the world that might draw us away from Jesus Christ. Though following Christ may seem difficult at times, we stay focused on him, truly believing his claims about himself, and choosing time and again to stay with him. We acknowledge along with the apostle Peter, that there is no one else who has the word of life (John 6:68). Fighting through each challenge, our devotion to Christ increases. Gradually we come to realize that the battle is for our heart, mind, and soul (Matthew 22:37); a battle for our loyalty and devotion. Yet if we press on in Christ without turning back, it reveals that our knowledge and love of Christ Jesus our Lord is growing.
Another change is taking place in us, a shift from effort to heart. When we begin to take Jesus seriously, we tend to think in terms of the effort needed to follow him. Perhaps we follow as if bound by duty or a sense of obligation. Or maybe we think of following Christ in terms of fitting in and belonging, so we make an effort to adapt to what we view as the cultural things Christians are supposed to do. At this point our devotion is driven by our effort. Perhaps we begin to attend a church or a Sunday school class. Maybe we get into a small group or help serve the needy. We might pick up the Bible and try reading it or attempt to pray. In our attempts to pursue Christ in our own strength and power we subtly seek something besides him. Any movement towards Christ appears to happen because of our effort. Thus, if we struggle at this point, we may beat ourselves up and feel that we have to try harder or do better. As we mature, a transition takes place. Exactly when and how it happens differs from one person to the next. It may be a dramatic change we clearly recall, or it may be a gradual change that we see when we look back at who we used to be. Some of us respond to an invitation to go deeper. Others experience an inner stirring and cry out to God for a closer relationship to Him. But the most significant change is our motive for pursuing Christ. On the outside we appear to be exactly the same, but we know something is different inside our heart. One way to describe the shift is that our heart is on fire for the Lord. We hunger to know Christ more and want others to know and love him like we do. Effort is exchanged for a heart that loves Christ and wants to glorify God with our life. We admit that we do not always follow him as well as we would like, but nevertheless we feel a fire burning in our heart. What we once did out of duty or to belong, is now done in a spirit of gratitude and love (I Thessalonians 5:16-18). We pursue Christ, not by our own effort, but because we love him in a degree that far exceeds how we have ever loved anyone else (I Peter 1:8). It has become a joy to serve others because we now recognize that we are serving Christ (Matthew 25:34-40; Colossians 3:23-24). Now we sing, pray, and read our Bible with a passion for the Lord, a desire to know him better, and a passion to draw near to him (James 4:8a). That which had required much effort on our part flows much more naturally when we operate out of a heart of love. While our effort plays a part in our growth (God for certainly uses it for His purpose) now we see that our effort could not accomplish what only God could do in and with our heart. Though we cannot explain how or why He has brought about this transformation in us, we are grateful He has. A heart for God is something we do not produce or earn, yet somehow as we follow Christ we are in a position for God to work in us. As unexplainable as it is, we recognize its effect in our life.
It would be misleading to say that we arrive at a point in which we are completely devoted to Christ strictly out of love. Yet, there is a sense in which we learn to live each day in complete devotion to him. It is evident in our choices and in the way we make decisions. Some choices are challenging, maybe even painful, but time after time we choose to follow Christ no matter what the circumstances (John 21:18-22). We believe God and trust His word. We crucify our flesh with its passions and desires, and walk in the Spirit (Galatians 5:24-25). As much as it can be said of any person this side of eternity, we are completely devoted to Christ. That is not to say we never stumble, but if we do we quickly return to the Lord with a repentant heart deeply aware that the last thing we want is to harm our Lord or his reputation. Our heart's desire is to make him known in the way we live, not discrediting him in the sight of others. Out of a love for God and neighbor we serve the Lord's interests with a heart wholly devoted to him. We are Christ's and he is ours.
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