“Serve wholeheartedly, as if you were serving the Lord, not people.” Eph. 6:7
Dear Jesus, there’s no greater morass and trap than living horizontally (for people’s approval), rather than vertically (for your glory). In all of our relationships, we want to love and serve you wholeheartedly, in response to your wholehearted mercy, grace, and love for us. Help us make that shift, Jesus, and reel us back in when we get out of kilter, whack, and priority.
Get us back on the right relational axis, Jesus. Overwhelm us with your everlasting love and unfailing kindness. We want to live “smitten” with your beauty and bounty. Restore our first-awareness of Gospel freedom. Renew our first-love for yourself. Refire our first-delight in living for your glory.
Then free us to love and serve people, as unto you—whether our kindness is acknowledged, reciprocated, or ignored. Help us build a culture of grace in our friendships, marriages, parenting, and vocations. Help us to break the cycle of living as affirmation junkies, rejection “phobiacts,” and relational pragmatists. Help us to take back the power we’ve given certain people to either ruin our day, or “fill our love tank.”
Jesus, we long for the Day when we will be made perfect in love (1 John 3:1-3). Until that Day, keep toppling our people idols by the riches of your grace and wonders of your love. So Very Amen.
