Devotion
What are you devoted to?
What happens when you live by what you are devoted to?
๐๐๐ฏ๐จ๐ญ๐ข๐จ๐ง – “an ardent love, loyalty, or enthusiasm for a person or activity. A strong attachment, an eager inclination, an animated zeal, a loyal affection.”
Later this morning, I will begin my weekly activity of responding to email letters sent to me by each of the missionaries serving in the mission. Every preparation day (P-day – a Tuesday in our mission), every missionary sends an email letter to the Mission President.
Every week, I take some time to sit down, read each of the letters, one by one and prepare an appropriate response for each missionary.
Prior to starting, I prayerfully consider the activity at hand, and seek guidance from on high as to how best to respond by preparing a personal reply to each of the missionary letters.
Preparing for my day ahead, the word “devotion” has come gently to mind once more.
Service
It strikes me that in reading and responding to all of these letters for the last 20 weeks or so, without fail, I find that each of these young missionaries have an unwavering commitment to their calling as a missionary. They are indeed as the dictionary definition of the word ๐
๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ outlines, filled with “an ardent love, loyalty, or enthusiasm for a person or activity. A strong attachment, an eager inclination, an animated zeal, a loyal affection.”
It strikes me too, that as they have lived by what they are devoted to, their lives start to change. By that I mean, ๐ข๐ ๐ฐ๐ ๐ฅ๐ข๐ฏ๐ ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐๐จ๐ฌ๐ฉ๐๐ฅ, ๐ฐ๐ ๐ฐ๐ข๐ฅ๐ฅ ๐ฅ๐จ๐ฏ๐ ๐ข๐ญ, ๐ข๐ ๐ฐ๐ ๐ฅ๐จ๐ฏ๐ ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐๐จ๐ฌ๐ฉ๐๐ฅ, ๐ฐ๐ ๐ฐ๐ข๐ฅ๐ฅ ๐ฅ๐ข๐ฏ๐ ๐ข๐ญ. Day in, day out, week in, week out, I see exceedingly strong evidence of that in each of our full time missionaries and in those whom they teach the Gospel too.
Being a missionary isn’t easy, in fact it is down right tough! Yet on the flip side it is also filled with the most miraculous of daily experiences.
Daily, each missionary devotes their lives to the service of others and helping so many to draw closer to Jesus Christ. Oftentimes, they place the needs of others, above their own.
It is clear that a devotion to something gives each of us a sincere enthusiasm about life and an ardent love for those things we are responsible for. I believe that when we have a strong devotion to something and it lies at the very centre of our life, then somehow our lives become much more worthwhile, filled with purpose and meaning.
Shortly, I’ll begin my weekly devotion to missionary responses.
What would you like to be devoted to?