Sacred Claim

I just recently finished reading a book by one of my long-time favorite authors: Leslie Ludy. The book was Set-Apart Femininity, and it was anything but a disappointment. One of the points that convicted me most was the one called sacred claim.

My life belongs to God. I belong to God. I am His to do with as He pleases. He has a sacred claim on my life and wants to use me in some way in the world for His own glory.

So what right have I to waste my time and money and affections on trivial pursuits? God's kingdom needs servants. God's field needs workers. There are hurting people everywhere, and God would have me burdened to help them.

It helped that my devotions have been in Exodus lately. The children of Israel were slaves, strangers in a strange land. Then God heard their cries and delivered Him, leading them on a pilgrimage to a far-away country; so they rose and cooked their unleavened bread and got their packs ready and went out from Egypt, trusting in the God of their fathers Who had delivered them with His mighty hand.

What would have happened, I wonder, if they - like me - had so many possessions that they couldn't fit them in a room, let alone a pack; and they were dull to the Spirit of God because they were neglecting their relationships with Him for the sake of worthless "pleasures"?

God's call on us is to be pilgrims. Ready to stop and help the needy, but otherwise faithfully and steadfastly walking forward on the road to the Promised Land.