Practicing Devotion in a relationally real way - God loves us first

At a ladies' creative session, this was one of the beautiful designs made. My heart belongs to Jesus. 

Devotion.

The act of dedicating something to a specific person, cause or activity.

The state of being ardently dedicated and loyal.

This word, devotion, sums up the desire of my heart: to love the Lord with all of my being - body, mind, heart, and soul. And for it to show. For others to know Whom I am dedicated to.

'So Liezl, how do you actually do devotion?'

And this is my reply:

My relationship with Jesus is somewhat of a mystery.

Falling in love is a mystery. No-one can explain to you why you feel like you do, but it's there. And so it is with my relationship with Jesus: it is very real and at the same time inexplicable.

First, Jesus is the anchor in our relationship. He is the anchor of my soul. He holds me. He upholds me. This is important. Very important: It is not I that initiates this relationship. It is not I that keep it going. Christ has done it all. Christ does it all. He is by my side and He is available to me at all times.

So, the thing is, even when I am not devoted to Jesus, my Lord, my friend and my Saviour, HE ALWAYS REMAINS FAITHFUL.

I do not need to work for His affection.

I do not need to work for His approval.

I am accepted. Fully known. Fully loved.

And because of His incredible devotion to me, I want to... not have to, no... I WANT TO reciprocate in response to His incredible, undeserved, overwhelming favour & love, and devote my life to Him in return.

(Hang in there. I will get to the 'nitty gritty' of how I do devotion... to be continued.)