For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain. Philippians 1:21
In "Don Quixote" the Spanish author Miguel de Cervantes (1547-1616) tells the story of a would-be knight who wants to do good things, in keeping with the ideals of knighthood. He wants to right every wrong and to dream the impossible dream. So he goes ahead and tilts at windmills, regarding them as evil giants.
Many people want to have a worthwhile mission in life. So they espouse causes and become crusaders. It is an axiom in physics that nature abhors a vacuum. This appears to be true also in a spiritual sense. Human nature, when it is no longer filled with religion, tends to make a "religion" out of secular causes.
We find many instances of this in the Bible. A spiritual vacancy, in many cases, was filled with something less than a worthwhile social cause--filled instead with pride, selfishness, and greed. Judas Iscariot was undoubtedly a believer when Jesus called him as an apostle. But as the ardor of faith and love left his heart, "Satan entered" (Luke 22:3); Judas became a mercenary, then a betrayer. Money became his "messiah," silver his "savior," and hoped-for-gold his "god."
How important it is that we continually be filled with the Holy Spirit, leaving no room in our hearts for evil spirits to enter in! It is indeed proper for us as citizens to support necessary projects in the public domain. But we don't want secular causes in society and state to take away or compromise our commitment to Jesus Christ as our topmost priority. We want to keep saying with Saint Paul, "To me, to live is Christ" (Philippians 1:21). And we have good reason. Christ loved us and gave Himself up for us. He is the object of our affection. To spread His saving Gospel in the world "on the wings of the wind" (Psalm 104:3) is our mission. This is far better than tilting at windmills to find meaning in life.
PRAYER: Thank You, Lord God, for providing me with time and opportunity, talents and treasure, to live for Christ. Amen.
(Devotions from "With Jesus Every Day" copyright 1997, CPH. All Rights Reserved. No part of this publication may be printed, reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without prior written permission of Concordia Publishing House. Permission is granted for one-time emailing of this link to a friend. For information on other devotional material, please contact CPH at 800-325-3040 or visit CPH at www.cph.org.)
Today's Bible Readings: Nahum 1-3 Acts 23:1-15
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