There’s no doubt in anyone’s mind that Jesus gave all His whole heart to God’s mission. He showed His devotion even in the midst of temptation from Satan himself! Matthew 4:10 “Jesus said to him, “Away from me, Satan! For it is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only.'” He demanded that Satan leave him alone and he did!
Jesus, one day, walked into the temple of His Father and saw people there selling cattle, sheep, and doves. Knowing this was not bringing God glory or honor, he responded with a righteous indignation! He made a whip, drove all who were there away, scattered coins, and overturned tables! His strong conviction on not seeing God’s house turned into a marketplace sparked Jesus into doing something about it! The bible calls this zeal; a strong feeling of interest and enthusiasm that makes someone very eager or determined to do something! Right after Jesus performed these acts, his disciples are recorded remembering the scripture “zeal for your house will consume me”. (John 2:16)
Great energy or enthusiasm in pursuit of a cause or an objective. Fervor for a person, cause, or object; eager desire or endeavor; enthusiastic diligence. All of this describes zeal! But for a Christian it amounts to one thing, to please God! Zeal was taught to me at an early age. I learned to love the game of baseball be cause my grandfather was a baseball player before he became an engineer. My grandfather, when given enough time, would routinely work into conversation, a baseball story or two…or three. He would often tell of how “sharp” his eye was at the plate and how well he could see the ball come out of the pitcher’s hand in order to hit it. I developed a zeal for the game of baseball and I pursued that all the way to a Varsity level in my high school.
For me, it was easy to put my heart into baseball. I liked it. I think it can be easy for any of us to put our heart and effort into something that we like! In fact, much of the world wraps their entire lives around what they really like. Whether it’s a career, family, a hobby, or a sport we usually allow one of these to identify us. Whatever we feel most comfortable identifying with, is normally what we feel is the easiest thing to be unified on. For example, growing up, I loved “talking baseball”! Knowing the stats on certain players, critiquing technique of the players on my own team, and fantasizing of the day when I believed I would play in the Big Leagues, was how I felt unified with others. I would thoroughly enjoy any conversation of the sort, even with a stranger if they were a baseball fan, but If I was ever around someone that wasn’t a baseball fan, it was like I couldn’t connect with them. There was a barrier between them and I that I felt couldn’t be broken down because we weren’t on the same page. Jesus showed those in the temple that he was not in agreement and not on the same page as they were.
Now understand, it’s common to have zeal in the workplace when someone drops the ball on a deadline. You might be very quick step in and do something about it. It is common to have zeal in the classroom when someone may say something out of line to you about the professor. It is common to have zeal for your sports team when someone may cheer or root against you. But I wonder how many of us show zeal for our God when He is blasphemed? How many of us are inwardly burning when a false doctrine is preached? How many of us show zeal when God’s name is used in vain? How many of us show zeal for God’s purpose of seeking and saving the lost? This is what we should really have zeal for!
If you don’t feel united with the rest of God’s people, it can oftentimes mean that you are lacking zeal for God’s house! What does this? Why do people like those that made God’s temple a marketplace, lack zeal? They weren’t interested in pleasing God! They were in the temple, but using it for their own gain and profit. A selfish desire to be in the Kingdom of God will cause anyone to lack zeal for God. The Bible says in Romans 12:11 that we should, “Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord.” This is either being obeyed in you right now, or it’s not. In the end, a lack of zeal will cause someone to lose their desire to please God our Father. If there is no desire to please Him, then there is no desire to stay faithful and fight the good fight. I encourage you to get that zeal back, if you’ve lost it! Don’t go another day, not fired up for the Lord and His Kingdom!
A purified heart, a clear conscience, and a close relationship with God is how we can all be united in zeal for God’s house! – Dale Bryant
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