ONE Thing

Often times when Jesus spoke of Himself and the eternal life He wants to give, He made the comparison between the many or the one. One Shepherd vs. the many theives and robbers who come to steal, kill, and destroy. One Voice vs. the multitude. One Thing to seek, One to receive glory, One Life from which we live. It's like He wanted us to see that in order to gain Him and the life He brings, we must lose all else. Both hands must grasp for Him . . . not even one finger holding on to anything else. Wholehearted and whole will -- stretching out toward One goal. And He will be found by those who do this (Jeremiah 29:13) and by those who are truly asking, seeking, and knocking (Matthew 7:7). He is the Treasure worth selling all for! Anyone who chooses to let go of whatever else their hands are grasping -- in order to hold on to Jesus -- will be FILLED! Not disappointed or disillusioned. Not saying, "It was a raw deal" or "Bad trade". These are words that reveal a lack of wholeheartedness, not a lack in the Treasure.



"The light of the body is the eye; if therefore thine eye be SINGLE, thy whole body shall be full of light." (Matthew 6:22)


C.S. Lewis compares listening to only God -- this single eye -- as "coming in out of the wind." Our desires (the voices within) and the influence of men (the voices without) being the "wind". A worthy, thought-provoking illustration. Kierkegaard said, "Purity of heart is to will ONE thing." If our ONE thing is Him, we fulfill the requirement stated by Jesus, "Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God." (Matt.6:8)
 
I saw a perfect illustration of this today. I was outside and it was very warm and humid. The flies were bothering me a lot. When I eventually went back inside, I was looking forward to some respite from these pests. As soon as I came in, though, I heard that familiar buzzing around my ears. A fly was in the house and he had found me. As I stood there, flyswatter poised and ready, I remembered that I had seen this fly before. Last evening, before I went to bed, I had noticed him in the house. He wasn't pestering me then, so I let him alone. But now, when I was expecting peace, my lack of discipline the night before came back to bite me (almost literally!). So it is with our thoughts. The voices within and the voices without -- not the Voice from above -- may seem innocent enough. But when we allow them into the inner part -- the holy of holies, if you will -- of our heart, they become as much of a distraction to us hearing from God as those flies buzzing around my head.
 
We must choose to worship Him alone in all our thoughts. Just as sacred is the temple of our bodies as the temple Jesus cleansed from all the distractions of the moneychangers.
~Meditations by Kelly Woodford
 
Also, I was very blessed by Whitney's thoughts this morning:
http://lessonsthroughthelens.blogspot.com/2011/06/growing-more-then-just-flowers.html