“My Son, I must be thy Supreme and final end, if thou desirest to be truly happy. Out of such purpose thy affection shall be purified, which too often is sinfully bent upon thyself and upon created things. For if thou seekest thyself in any matter, straightway thou wilt fail within thyself and grow barren. Therefore refer everything to Me first of all, for it is I who gave thee all.”
(The Imitation of Christ by Thomas A. Kempis, The First Book, page 63)
“My Son, I must be thy Supreme and final end, if thou desirest to be truly happy. Out of such purpose thy affection shall be purified, which too often is sinfully bent upon thyself and upon created things. For if thou seekest thyself in any matter, straightway thou wilt fail within thyself and grow barren. Therefore refer everything to Me first of all, for it is I who gave thee all.”Happiness. We all want to be happy, desiring it for ourselves and our families.
The quest for happiness can take us on a journey of various sorts as we seek out relationships, careers, status, possessions, and truly anything which strikes our fancy. Once obtained, we can find ourselves still empty and asking one of two questions, “Is that all there is to this?” or “What next?”, as we move on in our pursuit.
This ancient writing brings the reminder –
Jesus, first and last.
Jesus, above all and everything.
As we keep Jesus, front and center in our lives, we will find ourselves to be most happy and our lives fruitful.
Single-minded devotion is at the heart of it all. The Gospel of Matthew puts it this way:
“Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need.” (Matthew 6:33, NLT)
The Lord truly does bestow His goodness on us when we are serving Him and walking in His ways. While the way may not always be easy, it is always precious and sweet.
Our hearts have been so fashioned that they will be set on the place we store our treasures. The more we seek Him, the looser we will hold our earthly possessions and ambitions, as our hearts become more eternally minded.
“What we need to be concerned about, therefore, is a single eye for the glory of God, an eye that discerns His will in order that we may walk in it. If we turn away to paths of self-will, we go into willful darkness and will soon lose our way. We must choose for ourselves whether we will serve God or riches. We cannot serve both. The love of one crowds out the love for the other.”
(from Ironside Commentaries: Matthew by H.A. Ironside, page 46)
That’s what we need …
A single eye for the glory of God.
An eye that discerns His will.
As our eyes are set correctly, then and only then, will we walk in His ways, turning away from the path of our own selfish will. May He helps us to cast aside every desire that is not of Him and would seek to keep us from walking closely with Him.
Today I am joining … Grace Moments and #ChasingCommunity and Heart Encouragement Thursday and Tune In Thursday .
“A single eye for the glory of God.
An eye that discerns His will.” ~ Yes and amen, Joanne. Amazing things happen when we keep focus, don’t they? Blessed to visit today via #heartencouragementThursday.
Kristi, staying focused will help us to discern His will and see things we ordinarily might miss. May we stay focused today!
Like Kristi, the truth of singularity of purpose has impressed itself on me, Joanne. Thanks for sharing these deeply meaningful quotes and then reflecting on them with us!
Thanks, Michele. May we stay focused and see Him today!
That’s the key, isn’t it Joanne? single-minded devotion. If only we could remember that moment to moment. Thanks for this reminder that the more I seek Him, the less I’ll care about everything else, and be happyily satisfied with the eternal. ((hug))
Thanks for this beautiful reminder to keep our eyes fixed on Jesus. Again, a sweet confirmation of what the Lord has been stirring in my heart as well! The Thomas A’ Kempis book is one that I return to often; so convicting and full of truth!
A Kempis is one I keep thinking I should read, but I’m a little daunted by the thought. I appreciated this emphasis and reminder of making sure our focus is where it needs to be. It’s so easy to get distracted, and we need to constantly adjust our focus back to Him and His glory.
As our eyes are set correctly … then and only then will we walk in His ways. Thanks so much for sharing your thoughts and this post with the community at #TuneInThursday this week. Such a great thought provoking post. Blessings