To Whom Do You Bow Your Knee?

To Whom Do You Bow Your Knee?

"For this reason I bow my knees to the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, from whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named, that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with might through His Spirit in the inner man, that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and depth and height— to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge; that you may be filled with all the fullness of God. Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us, to Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen." (Eph.3:14-21)

Have we truly bowed our knee to our Lord? Are we in humble submission and all reverence before Him? Is our inner man strengthened so that Christ dwells in our hearts through faith? Does our faith shine through in our deeds?

Consider the contrast that if we're trying to live life on our terms then we will find ourselves:

* growing weaker spiritually and more susceptible to letting error draw us further away from God

* neglecting study of God's word

* forsaking the limits set by Him

* seeking justification for our actions rather than making sure they align with God's standards

* conforming the word of God to fit our motives rather than conforming ourselves to fit His Word...

Friend, if any of these even come close to describing you or me then we've bowed at the altar of self in the temple of satan, not the Lord. How often do we find ourselves ending the day with the regret "Ah, I didn't do my reading/study today...oh well, I'll pick it up tomorrow" or perhaps "I really need to do better at [whatever]...I wonder what articles the Internet has in store for me to improve my life." We can be so cavalier with our souls and with our role as servants of the Most High at times, can't we (Matt.16:26)?

Yet, while we can all make it a point to do what we should, there's the temptation to treat these things as merely a "to-do" list or a check box rather than a "necessity" or a "do-or-die" action for our soul. Nothing wrong with lists, but when we treat the items just as merely something to check off rather than a necessity, then we've erred. Consider David's statements about God's law and His word throughout the Psalms - particularly Psalm 19 and 119. If we loved God's word to the degree David expresses there then perhaps we'd see a difference in the priority it has in our lives - to both learn from and reflect upon. If we don't have it in front of us then is it printed on our hearts? Something to consider.

Or, perhaps we justify the way we've lived that day, giving ourselves a pass on what we deem just "being ourselves" or some other way of excusing our failings before God. Rather than admit our faults and repent of our ways, we find a way to dismiss it, treat as no big deal, or if there's something wrong then it's someone else's fault for having a problem with it, etc. We can allow satan to do the same thing he did in the beginning with Eve - convince us we're justified in what we're doing, and that God's way isn't to be trusted or completely heeded; rather, for us to do it our way means greater gain for us (Gen.3:5). Oftentimes, perhaps, we find ourselves seeking to justify ourselves rather than learn what the Lord would have us do, and then having the submissive heart that will actually do it.

Why would we not go to the source of all good, the very Creator of mankind Himself - the One who truly "wrote the book" on how we are to live as His creation??

To suppose that God put us here and didn't give us everything we need to live this life properly with Heaven being not just a possibility, but a certainty is ludicrous and intellectually dishonest considering the evidence (2Tim.3:16-17; 2Pet.1:2-4; Jd.3).

Yes, Heaven is attainable! Do you and I believe that with our whole hearts?! Do we reflect it in how we live our lives? Just look again what Paul says here about our God:

"...that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and depth and height— to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge..."

And

"...Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us, to Him be glory..."

Do we not see the absolutes contained here??? Through faith and being grounded and rooted in love, we are able to comprehend the magnificence that is in Christ through His love, whose end result is the fulness of God. Believe it, friend. However, don't stop short with just believing - true Bible belief requires action, always has and always will. God is not satisfied with merely an assertion made by a fallible being, rather He has a right to expect of us that we follow through, that we be perfected by following His Son, and we show that we truly believe by obeying Him with our whole heart in all things (Deut.6; Jms.2:14-26).

To whom do you bow? Recognize that one day, we will all bow before the Lord, and we will all give an answer (Phil.2:5-11) - as Joshua said to Israel, may we choose this day whom we shall serve:

"Now therefore, fear the Lord, serve Him in sincerity and in truth, and put away the gods which your fathers served on the other side of the River and in Egypt. Serve the Lord! And if it seems evil to you to serve the Lord, choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.” (Josh.24:14-15)