“Other seeds fell on shallow soil with underlying rock. The seeds sprouted quickly because the soil was shallow. But the plants soon wilted under the hot sun, and since they didn’t have deep roots, they died.”
Matthew 13:5-6 NLT
Dig deeper
There’s so much more than what we get at the surface level upon first hearing about Christ.
Saints, to be completely honest, far too many of us are shallow. I’m guilty of it myself. We learn and do just enough to “be able to call ourselves Christians”. We learn the popular and commonly used verses such as Jeremiah 29:11, Romans 8:28 and John 3:16; we go to church on Sunday and may even shoot for Bible study during the week...we follow society’s norms for Christians- the rules and outward expectations- but inwardly, the word we’ve received has not taken root, our hearts have not truly transformed, we haven’t truly surrendered to the Lord. We form an intellectual relationship with God instead of an intimate one. We worship Him because it’s what is right but not because we necessarily desire to.
“How do you know that? How can you say that?”
Because, when you truly love someone, you desire to know everything about them. You desire to spend time with them. You’re willing to be vulnerable with them. Where your attention lies, is a sign of where your affection lies also.
Christ doesn’t merely require acknowledgement (our realization of His existence and Who He is), He requires all of our worship and desires an intimate relationship with each and everyone of us. He wants our love and undivided affection.
James 2:19
Luke 4:41
Matthew 22:37
Matthew 4:13
When our love for God is shallow and based on what we feel obligated to do, it is not love at all. God does not want our love for Him to be a chore on a list of things we have to do.
On the flip side of that, God does not want our love for Him to just be because of what He can do for us. Many of us love God because of what He does. I’m guilty of this as well.
Recently I was praying and I was just thanking God for all that He does for me. AS I was running down the list “thank You Lord for ____. I love You because You_____. I worship You for ______. Thank You that You ____. I praise You because You _____”, God interrupted me and said;
“I Am more than what I do. I Am Who I Am.”
This stopped me in my tracks and caused me to really reevaluate my love for Him. Was my love for Him based merely on the blessings He’s given me?
I am reminded of Job and how God allowed satan to test him to see if he really loved the Lord for Who He Is and not just what He had given Him.
Do we love God for Who He Is? Or do we love Him because of His hand?
When you ask the average person why they love the Lord, the response normally goes something like this, “because He did ____ for me.” or “He gave me ____.”
Now I am not saying there is anything wrong with thanking Jehovah Jireh for all He does and provides (we could honestly never thank Him enough for it all). What I am saying is that there’s a problem if our love for Him is centered on blessings. When we enter seasons where we don’t feel blessed then what?
God is so much more than what He can do for us.
You ever notice how when we hear stories of believers in third world countries who have next to nothing and are persecuted for their faith and we immediately are shocked and amazed? Ever wondered why we are amazed? Is it because deep down we view love for God as being a product of how materially blessed we are?Because these brothers and sisters in Christ seemingly have nothing (to the natural eye) we are so impressed that they still have such a great love for God and faith in Him. THIS IS SO SHALLOW OF US. Our love for God must be unconditional. It must go deeper than just what He can do for us.
“Other seeds fell on shallow soil with underlying rock. The seeds sprouted quickly because the soil was shallow. But the plants soon wilted under the hot sun, and since they didn’t have deep roots, they died.”
Matthew 13:5-6 NLT
It seems as though many believers in the Western world are shallow soil. We accept Christ, sprout quickly and are on fire for the Lord but the moment we experience a little heat (persecution of any kind) we begin to wither and die. Our love for God and understanding of His Word didn’t take root...not because it lacks power or because God doesn’t desire a greater connection with us but because we are lazy and complacent. We settle for a surface level Christianity - as if that truly exists.
We pray when we feel like it. We do when it’s comfortable. We obey when we want to.
We gain a basic understanding of God and become content with it.
THERE’S MORE
There is so much to God…
So many layers....
Such great depths to Him…
What human mind could contain it all?...
How much understanding of God can the human heart hold?
I don’t know but I desire to find out.
This year one of my prayers has been for God to enhance, strengthen, deepen my hunger and thirst for Him. I had just endured a period of time where I was tired and burnout. I felt stuck and stagnant spiritually…during this time I really had to push myself to get into the Word, not because I disliked reading the Word but I was just being lazy when it came to my relationship with Christ. I had a lot on my schedule and by the end of the day, I didn’t feel like staying up just one more hour to study the Word and talk to God. I could feel God nudging me and calling on me to come spend time with Him but for some reason I just didn’t feel motivated. But then a quote came to mind:
“You won’t always feel motivated so you have to be disciplined.”
And couple of verses came to my spirit:
“Restore to me the joy of your salvation,
and make me willing to obey You.”
Psalms 51:12 NLT
“For God is working in you, giving you the desire and the power to do what pleases Him.”
Phil. 2:13 NLT
I realized I had been relying on my own strength and willpower to follow rules and regulations when really I needed to pray for God to restore the joy of my salvation, I needed to rejoice in His Presence and rely on Him and His strength to give me the desire and power to do His will.
Why do you worship Christ?
15 “But in your hearts revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect,”
1 Peter 3:15
Why do you worship? Why do you love the Lord? If an unbeliever walked up to you and asked this question what would your answer be? Do you have a genuine answer that comes from your own relationship and revelation of Who Christ is and Who He has been for you?
We have heard of God, and many of us worship Him based on what we’ve been told about Him, but how many of us really dive into His Word and into prayer/conversations with Him daily to discover more about Him for ourselves? How many of us wake up with the goal of discovering more about God than we knew the day before? How many of us go home and study the Word for ourselves? How many of us acknowledge God in the little moments of the day, look for Him in the details and notice Him in nature as we walk, drive, ride from home to work and vice versa? I feel many times we get to a certain point in our understanding of God and become satisfied with it when there’s so much more to Him than that.
He is more than a sermon on Sunday and a teaching on Wednesday.
I have committed to learning about Who God is. His attributes, His characteristics, His love, His Sovereignty...I’m making the effort to learn more of Him as He reveals, layer by layer, Who He is. I’m not content with surface level Christianity. I’m not content with a generic understanding of God. I am not content with taking what I hear preached and read in books and running with it, never taking the time to study and learn for myself. I want more. I want to read the Word for myself, know God for myself. And I know that God is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him. (Hebrews 11:6)
It’s time to get back to basics. Back to seeking God, learning about God, spending time with God, growing in God, putting God first. No more over complicated rules and regulations Christianity. No more just serving God because it’s what we are supposed to do. No more just loving God because of what He does. It’s time to go back to the basics of a Christianity rooted in a living (genuine, growing, thriving) relationship with the Living God because of Who He Is.
“If you need wisdom, ask our generous God, and He will give it to you. He will not rebuke you for asking.”
James 1:5 NLT
“My heart has heard you say, “Come and talk with Me.”
And my heart responds, “Lord, I am coming.”
Psalms 27:8 NLT
“Search for the Lord and for his strength;
continually seek Him.”
Psalms 105:4
“And it is impossible to please God without faith. Anyone who wants to come to Him must believe that God exists and that He rewards those who sincerely seek Him.”
Hebrews 11:6
Let your faith dig deeper. Don’t settle to be a surface saint.
