Always About Jesus

"The Lord says, ‘These people come near to me with their mouth and honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me.’” Isaiah 29:13

When my grandson Carson was 5 years old, he was attending our Sunday School and church. I went to pick him up from his class so we can return home. I got him seat belted in the car and away we went. On the way home, I asked him if he enjoyed his class and he said that it was good. I asked him what it was about, and I’ll never forget his words. He said, ‘Emmy, it was about Jesus! It’s always going to be about Jesus!’

Oh, to have a heart that exclaims ‘It’s always about Jesus!’ But some days it is honestly more about my kingdom come. Some days it is about judging someone near and dear to me. Some days it is about resurrecting the hurt someone inflicted upon me. And some days it’s about wallowing in my lazy flesh instead of maturing my spirit. Lysa TerKeurst stated a beautiful sentiment in her video from Finding I Am. She states that, ‘Jesus doesn’t want to be explained away. He wants to be invited in.’ I started thinking about that statement. Explaining about Jesus is head knowledge, but experiencing Jesus is heart knowledge. I don’t remember a time without the head knowledge of Jesus, but I do remember many times where I lacked heart knowledge. I had given my life to Jesus but not my heart. Giving my heart to Him was denying what I wanted and following Him through obedience. Giving my heart to Him was setting aside the first part of my day to study His word and fellowship through prayer. Giving my heart to Him was not holding on to things others had done to me. Giving my heart to Him was bringing His kingdom down, not continuing to walk in mine. I feel like I have been stripped of so many old sorry attitudes. He is rebuilding old identities in which I had allowed to define me. I’m learning that my spiritual maturity develops through my faults and failures just as much as my small spiritual victories.

So, I will not despair over my past failures and present flaws for they are His classroom where I will delve more deeply into knowing Him. I will try my best to avoid the distractions that crowd in on my time with Him. I pray my heart displays the same thing on my lips and my life shows the desire for Jesus. Like Carson, when someone asks me about my day I want my life to show that ‘it will always be about Jesus!’ I pose the question this morning to you like I did to myself. ‘Have I given my heart to Jesus? Have I gotten to the place where it always needs to be about Jesus?’

Martha approached Jesus in great frustration. Her sister, Mary had chosen to spend time with Him instead of helping her in the kitchen. Jesus understood that Mary had chosen the better way. She had a heart that showed ‘It would always be about Jesus.’

“…but few things are needed-or indeed only one. Mary had chosen what is better, and it will not be taken from her.” Luke 10:42.