Duty or Devotion?
/But I fear, lest somehow,
as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness,
so your minds may be corrupted from
the simplicity that is in Christ.
2 Corinthians 11:3 NKJV
“We often say, and rightly so, that Christianity is not a creed, it is a relationship; it is living with a Person. That is the simplicity that is in Christ. The danger that we constantly face is that we get involved in the things about Christ and fail to live in relationship with Christ.”
(Ray Stedman, Authentic Christianity, 2025)
And much of the “things about Christ,” end up coming from “duty” rather than a heart of “devotion.”
According to the dictionary, “duty” is an obligation, task, or responsibility that someone is required to perform. In contrast, “devotion” is a feeling of strong love, loyalty, or dedication to a person, cause, or belief.
Many of us start out with heartfelt devotion to the Person of Christ and His Gospel. But through performance-driven training (aka “discipling”), religious influence, legalistic teaching and preaching, or our own fleshly desire for approval by the “important/ godly people” in our church community, we may slip into doing what we do out of religious “duty” — requirements for “maturing in the faith” rather than loving devotion to Christ.
So let me ask you, dear friend:
How is your Christian life working for you these days?
Is your walk with God one of duty, obligation, and heaviness or is it one of devotion, love, and restfulness?
As one spiritual writer of the past has said,
“All true spiritual experience begins with rest.”
(Watchman Nee, Sit, Walk, Stand)
About 40 years ago, I hit the lowest point in my spiritual walk with Christ. But this lowest point changed EVERYTHING and ushered me into what would become a life of freedom and joy and rest in the Lord.
I WAS the ultimate poster child for doing the “spiritual to-do lists.” I spent years doing them in some form or another. And every Christian tradition I was a part of had its own list.
When I started out my walk with the Lord at a young age, my heart was toward HIM. I loved God and Jesus and the Holy Spirit …and everything about them. (See my Remembering Stones for more details)
Years passed into my young adulthood and without my fully realizing it, my spiritual life became more about MY growth, MY spirituality, MY maturity, MY ministry, MY…MY…MY…I worshiped at the altar of “Doing the Right Thing.” As a result it became a bondage, a chain around my neck, a legalism, a performance, and I hated it!
So after years of spiritual disciplines that I checked off day by day on my chart literally, after years of the “success/failure cycle,” never feeling enough was enough, I came to the end of my self-effort.
My health was breaking. No one was believing me that I was sick (including some of those closest to me, even my doctor…until I finally went into anaphylactic reactions from unknown sources). I thought God was judging me for not doing enough perfectly (How much is “enough”?). I was in despair and desperation, and I said to the Lord, “I give up…I can’t do this anymore!”
It was then that the Lord broke through to my heart and soul and basically said the words that set me free,
I love you even if you never do another thing right again.
I experienced amazing joy and peace initially. But then the struggle began. And it continued for 2 years:
Was it “my imagination?”
Was it the whispering of the enemy of my soul: “wishful thinking, too good to be true”?
Finally, I heard the Holy Spirit, “Jan, are you going to believe Me and My Love or not? You have to chose…will you believe Me for not?”
So in faith, I decided to believe His unconditional love for me personally.
And everything began to change. I began to “see” His unconditional love everywhere in my life, especially throughout the Scriptures:
See how very much our Father loves us, for he calls us his children, and that is what we are! (1 John 3:1 NLT)
And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow—not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love. No power in the sky above or in the earth below—indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Romans 8:38-39 NLT)
And so many more …
Before I had just “seen” the commands, the “should’s” and “ought to’s” because that was what I heard preached and also my flesh likes to “work and earn.” But when I heard and embraced the “Word of Love” that set me free, the legalisms began to drop away, and …
I STARTED FROM SCRATCH.
I told my husband that I was throwing out everything I had ever learned about the Christian life. I was trusting God to rebuild it all HIS way. John was shocked and worried. After all, we both had degrees from Moody Bible Institute and had studied at Dallas Seminary. We had spent several years in church ministry in McLean, VA.
But it didn’t matter. I couldn’t go back … it had all become so “dead.” And I’m so glad I followed the leading of the Spirit. He ushered me into a life I could have never imagined.
NEXT TIME,
I’ll share how the Holy Spirit guided my STARTING FROM SCRATCH.
Now dear READER,
Do you have a story to share about your discovery of God’s unconditional love for you personally? Please share it in the comments.
Also please share in the comments your favorite Scripture about the love of God.
And as always, a “like” on this post would be a great encouragement.
Thank you.
