So if you have been raised with the Messiah, seek what is above, where the Messiah is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on what is above, not on what is on earth. Colossians 3:1-2 HCSB
For many years, I cowered at the thought of cooking gumbo. I was terrified of the whole roux making process. I tend to be easily distracted and I had been taught that a roux must be stirred continually until it is done. Now I like to limit my cooking to those things that say cook on low heat stirring occasionally. Even better if you can cook on low heat and not stir at all. But winter before last, with the help of a dear friend, I learned how to make a roux. Of course once that’s done the rest of the gumbo is easy. Now I’ve only done chicken and sausage so far, but I learned that when you boil your chicken you can put that on the back burner. You just turn it on and let it boil. The roux needs your constant attention so of course that is definitely done on the front burner.
So I ask you today, do you treat your relationship with God like the chicken or the roux? Do you put it on the back burner and forget about it or do you tend to it continually? Our scripture passage today says that if you have been raised with the Messiah that you are to seek what is above. When we make a public profession of faith and are baptized, our being raised out of the water is symbolic of our being raised with the Messiah. Once we accept Him as our Lord and Savior, our focus should be on what is above, where the Messiah is. Once we wrap our heads around the fact that he controls everything it just makes more sense to focus on Him, right? You focus on the one who is in control.
Now sadly many of us, myself included, get saved and think that we are good to go. We think that we can check that off our list and put it on the back burner and it will take care of itself. Boy, was I wrong on that one. You see if we don’t tend to it continually, it won’t turn out as we had hoped. Just like we must continually stir that roux, we must continually seek the Lord. In Psalm 105:4, David says that we should seek the Lord and His strength and seek His face always. He says this again in his Psalm of Thanksgiving in 1 Chronicles 16:11. Jeremiah 29:13 tells us that we will seek and find God when we seek Him with our whole heart.
If you put your roux on your back burner and set your chicken to boil on your front burner, your gonna have some problems. Your roux will be all burned up and useless due to a lack of attention or the heat from the chicken may burn you while you try to stir your roux. You see I’m not telling you to totally ignore the world, we live in it and we must pay attention to some things. I’m just telling you to put God first. Continually stir your relationship with Him through constant prayer. 1 Timothy 5:17 tells us to pray without ceasing. We should be in constant communication with Him. Prayer should never be only the 911 calls, but an open line of communication. We should constantly give thanks. 1 Thessalonians 5:18 tells us to give thanks in all circumstances. This shows that we completely trust God’s word in Romans 8:28, which tells us that all things work for the good of those that love the Lord and are called according to His purpose. No matter what is going on in your life, you can trust that God is working it out for your good and His glory.
God made us to be in fellowship with Him. When we put Him first, our life just works as it should. We have peace and joy that is beyond comprehension. We live in His loving protection and we are given wisdom and discernment. We are guided by Him. If you haven’t come to accept Christ as your Lord and Savior, draw near to Him and He will draw near to you (James 4:8). If you’ve been saved, but have put God on the back burner, know that this is not going to work for you long term. Move Him to the front of your life and keep your focus on Him. When you do this, you can trust in Him to handle all the other stuff for you (Matthew 6:33).
Have a great day!