April 19, 2024 - 2 Chronicles 25-29

“Amaziah was twenty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem twenty-nine years. His mother's name was Jehoaddan; she was from Jerusalem. He did what was right in the eyes of the Lord but not wholeheartedly” (25:1-2).  Thinking about this description, isn’t it a description of all of us?  We love God but not as we should.  We love our brothers and sisters in our church families but not in the way we should, so often putting our own needs above those of others. We obey God’s commandments but not perfectly.  We struggle against sin and against the world with all its temptations but so often fail in our struggles.  Jesus had something to say about the sort of commitment we must have when he talked about following him fully even if it means selling all our worldly goods (Remember the story about the rich young man in Matthew 19?).  We must follow him wholeheartedly even if it means leaving mother and father (Matthew 19).  And what about the church in Laodicea to whom the Lord said, “I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot.  I wish you were either one or the other!” (Revelation 3:15)?  Oh, to live wholeheartedly for the One who has loved us with so great a love!

Living for Jesus, a life that is true,

Striving to please Him in all that I do;

Yielding allegiance, glad-hearted and free,

This is the pathway of blessing for me.

Jesus, Lord and Savior, I give myself to Thee,

For Thou, in Thy atonement, didst give Thyself for me;

I own no other Master, my heart shall be Thy throne;

My life I give, henceforth to live, O Christ, for Thee alone.   -- Thomas O. Chisholm (1917)