Courage

In 2 Chronicles 15:8 King Asa of Judah is commended after hearing the word from the Prophet Azariah he had courage and removed the idols from the land of Judah. What struck me here in this verse was how the verse emphasized the courage of Asa. To respond in obedience to the Word of God was not any easy thing to do. It took courage!

What was the tough thing he had to do? Asa was to remove the idols from the land. In other words he was to purge. There is no doubt these idols were popular. To go about removing these idols would not be a popular decision. Many would respond disapprovingly.

Many times we connect obedience with what we do. But it’s not only about what we do, it is also about what we don’t do. Obedience is often not about adding one more thing to our already busy lives, but purging competing priorities so that we keep the main thing, the main thing.

King Asa and the land of Judah had lost sight of the main thing. It was time to return and get back to the basics. In the book of Revelation, Jesus addresses the Church in Ephesus. He warns them they have forsaken their first love. He urges them to repent and to come back (Revelation 2:4-5).

Jesus doesn’t want to be our first love, he wants to be our only love. Imagine if you told your wife that she was your first love. But that you also loved Sally, Betsy, and Susan. That wouldn’t work very well. She wants to be your only love. In the same way Jesus wants to be your only love. Not to be first in your life, but to be your everything.