“For husbands, this means love your wives, just as Christ loved the church. He gave up His life for her to make her holy and clean, washed by the cleansing of God’s word.” (Ephesians 5:25 NLT)
Everything we do, say, or think adds to or detracts from the painting our life displays, in terms of what we think of our Savior. How we love ourselves and others, how we care for ourselves and others, what we think about, talk about, dream about, demonstrate in every word, act or deed, every moment of our life.
Of course, there are exceptions based on our mental, emotional, physical, even spiritual state, but as a believer in Jesus we are stewards, managers, caretakers of EVERYTHING the Lord gives us, including our body and mind, not just our soul. What we eat and how much, where we spend money and on what, whether we tithe and with what attitude. Virtually everything we do reflects what we think of Christ.
In Luke 10:25-28 Luke records a conversation Jesus had with an expert in religious law. The man asked Jesus: “’Teacher, what should I do to inherit eternal life?’ Jesus replied, ‘What does the law of Moses say? How do you read it?’ The man answered, ‘You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your strength, and all your mind.’ And, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ ‘Right!’ Jesus told him. ‘Do this and you will live!’”
To love Jesus is to put that love on display in every area of our lives. What do you “feed” your mind? Where and how do you invest your time? On what do you nourish your heart? How are you developing the strength and health of your body? What avenues are you following to nourish your soul?
Unless and until you make the connection between heart, mind, soul, and body you’ll never have ongoing intimacy with Jesus. How does that translate? Eat food that is nutritious, that will nourish your body; exercise in age-appropriate ways that will enable you to maintain an active lifestyle. Read books, articles that stimulate a healthy interest in things you enjoy, as long as they don’t dishonor Jesus. Read sermons, and especially the Bible to nourish your mind and soul.
Balance what you allow your eyes to view and your ears to hear, so as not to overload your mind and heart with “junk” that will deteriorate your spirit. Feeding your mind on a constant diet of television, video games, news channels, etc., will rob you of healthy communion with your Savior.
John MacArthur wrote: “The Christian husband displays what he thinks of Christ by the way he treats his wife.” And, of course, the same is true of the wife. How we love others is a reflection of how we love our Savior. MacArthur also wrote: “Those who are full are not interested in food. In the same way, sinners who are satiated with their sin have no hunger for spiritual things.”
While I’m not necessarily equating time spent on electronic devices as “sinful,” it can be very distracting to the accomplishment of other avenues of spiritual development. But even as I’m writing I’m realizing how many hours I research and write on my computer. However, even that needs balance. I still read and study my Bible largely the “old fashioned” way.
The point is, the end result of what we do, say, and think during the course of our day is going to reflect what we think of our Savior. So, you’ll need to discern what that looks like for you. Who’s being exalted? You or Jesus?
Food for thought.
Blessings, Ed 😊
Walking With Jesus 