Saturday, May 27
Sincere and pure devotion
Scripture: 2 Samuel 23-24, Psalm 62, 2 Corinthians 11
2 Corinthians 11:2–3 For I am jealous for you with godly jealousy, because I promised you in marriage to one husband, to present you as a pure virgin to Christ. 3 But I am afraid that just as the serpent deceived Eve by his treachery, your minds may be led astray from a sincere and pure devotion to Christ.
Observation
Paul loved to represent the church as the bride of Christ (see Romans 7, Ephesians 5), and here he returns to that analogy. He imagines himself a father who promised his daughter in marriage; in this case, the daughter is the Corinthian church promised in marriage to Jesus. He intended to present her to Jesus as “a pure virgin” who loved her new husband with a “sincere and pure devotion.” But he was concerned that the devil was leading them astray from that simple and pure devotion.
It is more difficult for me as a man to imagine myself the bride of Christ, but I do understand the concept of loving one’s spouse with sincere and pure devotion.
The word “sincere” literally means “single” as opposed to double or duplicitous. What you see is what you get. Simple, sincere, genuine, singleness of purpose. And the word “pure” is from the root meaning holy; it refers to moral purity but also being set apart, unique, special, different. It means that our devotion to Jesus is holy, pure, unique—we love Him more than anyone else.
Paul pictures a relationship with Jesus that is deep and rich. Sincere and pure devotion.
And he reminds us that we have an enemy who wants to lead us astray from that—pull us away from that relationship. In Corinth, the enemy was leading them astray through false teachers who were presenting a different Jesus, a different gospel.
Application
How could I be led astray from my sincere and pure devotion to Christ?
There are many competing narratives out there. I know Christians who have lost their faith, deconstructed it, or simply abandoned it for a different narrative, a different way to make sense of life. That’s one way—but not particularly interesting to me.
Another way is simply by being distracted or consumed by other things. For example, I think of Jesus’ story about the four soils (Matthew 13, Mark 4, Luke 8). The enemy takes away the word (seed) sown on the hard path. The seed sown among thorns (perhaps the weeds were sown by the enemy—Matthew 13:25) is choked out and bears no fruit. The weeds represent the worries of this life and the deceitfulness of riches and the desire for other things. Those very everyday things can choke out the good news in us and lead us astray from our sincere and pure devotion to Jesus. I’m more likely to be led astray this way.
That is one reason I do this every morning: spend time with Jesus, get clear and focused on what matters, and feed that relationship—keep my love for Jesus sincere and pure. It is also important to have regular times of examination.
2 Corinthians 13:5 Put yourselves to the test to see if you are in the faith; examine yourselves! Or do you not recognize regarding yourselves that Jesus Christ is in you—unless, indeed, you fail the test!
Prayer: Lord, I love You and I want to love You with a sincere and pure devotion. Please show me whenever anything leads me away from that and pull me back. Keep me close!