How can I give you up, O Ephraim? How can I hand you over, O Israel? How can I make you like Admah? How can I treat you like Zeboiim? My heart recoils within me; my compassion grows warm and tender.
Hosea 11v8 ESV
Christians are encouraged to have daily devotions with God; a time set apart to read His Word and commune with Him through prayer and praise. Personally, I don’t like the term. I don’t think we should “do” devotions, I think we should “be” devoted right through every day, being conscious of God in all that we do, and all that we say. But it is good to have a special time alone with God, away from the distractions of everyday life.
There are so many devotional materials for us to use; books, blog posts, daily reading etc. These help us in our growth in the knowledge and love of God. But I wonder how many of us have considered how devoted God is to His creation, and His daily devotion to us.
From the beginning of time, God shows His devotion to mankind. Before He created human beings, God prepared a wonderful environment for humans to live in. Everything was perfect, everything was “very good”. He wanted them to rule over everything He had made. He wanted daily fellowship with the pinnacle of His creation; man. In human terms, He had high hopes and expectations of man living in close intimate relationship with Him, the perfect “and they all lived happily ever after” story. But man spoiled it all by believing a lie and doubting that God had their best interests at heart. I’m sure I’m not the only one who has wondered why God didn’t just wipe every thing out and start all over again. The fact is, He didn’t.
God was as devoted to Adam and Eve as He is to us today. He saw their sin and the consequences that it would bring to the whole world, yet instead of wiping them out, He tells the serpent and Adam and Eve that He would bring a descendent that would crush the serpents (Satan’s) head. In spite of their sin, God was committed to working in and through man to bring about His perfect purposes.
And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel.” Genesis 3v15.
God could have destroyed them right there and then. He could have obliterated the whole of creation but He didn’t. His devotion to His creation stayed totally intact. While Adam and Eve and the rest of humanity since have suffered the consequences of sin, God has remained devoted to our salvation. Throughout the Old Testament we see picture after picture of God’s devotion to His people, even when they continually rejected Him. In the Gospels we see Jesus fulfilling the words spoken by God in Genesis 3v15. He is the descendant that crushed the head of Satan, even though He was bruised, beaten and crucified. In the rest of the New Testament, we see God’s continued devotion to restoring in us the image that we were created to portray; the image of Christ, His beloved Son. In Revelation, we see God’s devotion to us in that He is waiting in Heaven for the appointed day, that only He knows, when He will bring us all into the new heavens and new earth where we will reign with Him forever, just as we were supposed to do in the beginning.
God is totally devoted to us. Let us be challenged and encouraged to be totally devoted to Him in return.
