Zealous
“…Of the increase
of His government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David and
upon His kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with
justice from henceforth even for ever. The
zeal of the Lord shall perform this.” Isaiah 9:7
It is only one word, yet it carries so much feeling!
I love Shakespearian age literature, but am not one of
those people that reads with a dictionary on hand. When I got to the letter “Z”
in the names of God, the word “Zealous” immediately came to mind. The more I
thought though, it occurred to me that I don’t really know the meaning of the
word. Zealous meant… well… zealous?
Sheepishly, I pulled out my computer and looked it up, to see what the old Strong’s Concordance
had to say about it. With all the thousands of words available, he defines
zealous with only three very definitive words: jealousy, envy, and zeal. Further
searches (Webster J)
defined zealous with more ambiguous words and phrases, like, “passionate ardor,”
“eagerness of desire,” and “fervency.”
In a human sense, zeal can be either a good or a bad
thing. In today’s lingo, we would say “he’s all gung ho for…” something. (It can be any issue on any side.)
To then take that word and apply it to God’s character
paints it in, completely unknown as of yet, colors. God’s zeal can condemn the
Pharisee for hypocrisy while ardently calling the Publican to accept His
forgiveness. In His fervent love for you and I, God has a zeal that is
unmatched by any human lover wooing his bride.
At the same time, He is a very JEALOUS God. -And He has
right to be.
He created the world.
He created angels.
He made man.
And animals.
He shared His intelligence with man.
Yet man is “evil continually.” We stubbornly seek our own way. “I CAN DO IT MYSELF!” we say, disregarding His plan and His way of
doing things.
My music.
My video games.
My movies.
My favorite books.
My version of the Bible.
My opinion.
Me. Me. ME.
We don’t get it! He is zealous for our love! He is
jealous for our love! He is envious for our love!
And He should be. He
is the one we should be seeking. It’s His
opinion that really matters. He’s the Only One that deserves our unrestrained,
undivided devotion.
Now I’m feeling sheepish for another reason. -I know I am
not zealous for Him like I should be. Lord, make my life lead by Your desires
and plans, not my own. May others see Christ, not selfish, pious pride, shining
through my conversation. Lord, may you be glorified above all.
“For the zeal of
Thine house hath eaten Me up; and the reproaches of them that reproached Thee are fallen upon Me.” Psalm 69:9
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