Proud and insatiable are the hearts of those whose god is religion.
Like a bride gazing into a mirror and becoming increasingly obsessed by her own beauty, yet never being content with what she sees, her attention is far too easily drawn away from the true purpose of her efforts, her groom. She is captivated by whatever shiny accessory or cosmetic treatment promises to compensate for the endless imperfections increasingly magnified, even invented by her own vanity.
Face, hair and gown, she primps endlessly, seeking to satisfy what she is convinced she should be, while all but forgetting, that the pleasure of her beloved, and all he really wants, is her uninhibited, unpretentious love and adoration; the wholeness of her heart.
Such is the condition of many a church, and many a church-goer. The beautiful Bride of Christ too easily loses sight of the Savior’s true desire, becoming more and more obsessed with her own desire to become what she wants to see, or what she has come to believe she should see, in the mirror.
But, truth is, the mirror cannot reveal to our eyes what only the eyes of our Lord can see…the condition of our heart and whether we are lost in the vanity of our religious expression, or lost in a longing love and desire to seek Him, His presence, His Glory and His pleasure alone.
“Pure and undefiled religion in the sight of our God and Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their distress, and to keep oneself unstained by the world.” James 1:27
Like a bride gazing into a mirror and becoming increasingly obsessed by her own beauty, yet never being content with what she sees, her attention is far too easily drawn away from the true purpose of her efforts, her groom. She is captivated by whatever shiny accessory or cosmetic treatment promises to compensate for the endless imperfections increasingly magnified, even invented by her own vanity.
Face, hair and gown, she primps endlessly, seeking to satisfy what she is convinced she should be, while all but forgetting, that the pleasure of her beloved, and all he really wants, is her uninhibited, unpretentious love and adoration; the wholeness of her heart.
Such is the condition of many a church, and many a church-goer. The beautiful Bride of Christ too easily loses sight of the Savior’s true desire, becoming more and more obsessed with her own desire to become what she wants to see, or what she has come to believe she should see, in the mirror.
But, truth is, the mirror cannot reveal to our eyes what only the eyes of our Lord can see…the condition of our heart and whether we are lost in the vanity of our religious expression, or lost in a longing love and desire to seek Him, His presence, His Glory and His pleasure alone.
“Pure and undefiled religion in the sight of our God and Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their distress, and to keep oneself unstained by the world.” James 1:27
PDS
