'O lay aside each earthly thing,
And with thy heart as offering
Come worship now the infant King.
Tis love that's born tonight!'
---Wilha Hutson
Consider the term 'laying aside'. Laying aside assumes, I think, personal choice; the act of laying aside implies no use of force. It assumes the possession of earthly things; one cannot lay aside what one does not have. I believe it also assumes a thought-based process; rashness might be called 'tossing aside' or 'throwing away' instead. In this season of preparation, in this time of heart-readying, in this Advent, what are you willing to lay aside in order to make your heart an offering? What distracts you, not just in this busy season, but year-round, from offering love its due in your life? Love is born, to the world and in our hearts. Will we make room?
Love, for offering...
Jesus is my King, and I know I have his love in my heart. When I put anything else ahead of Him, that is to say, when I make something else more important than Him, (and, regretfully, I do sometimes) then that thing becomes my King.
ReplyDeleteSometimes money has been my King. Sometimes sex, pride and envy have been my Kings. These things do not and cannot love me, yet I find myself devoting my thoughts and focus to them. I am successful most of the time at laying these aside for the love of Jesus. But why can I not permanently lay them aside? I suppose it is because I am a sinner. Jesus loves me even when I am not letting Him be my King. So I strive to make Him my King as much as I can.