Last month we immersed ourselves in John 17, pondering the deep love that God has for us – His beloved! At the same time, the echo of a Christmas carol is still in our heads and hearts … “O come let us adore Him ….”
When I think about adoring God, I’m reminded of time we spent with our daughter and members of an order of Mexican sisters in northern Mexico some years ago.
I noticed a large sign on their bulletin board. Adoremos a Jesús. Even with my limited Spanish, the meaning was clear. But I asked about it, because obviously it held some importance as a reminder.
I learned that this was the 5-year emphasis for their order, to Adore Jesus. That’s it. For 5 years. As I let that sink in, I noted that in my Christian experience, I had never had one focus for 5 years! Sometimes there was a year-long Bible study, but the norm seemed to be an 8-week study, or maybe 12 weeks. But 5 years with one focus! Never.
Then a couple of years later we visited our daughter in a different part of Mexico. She was living in a home with sisters from the same order while she was doing research on migration. On the wall of their small chapel, I noticed the same sign. Adoremos a Jesús. Of course, we were still in the 5-year period of that emphasis! Even if I had forgotten, they had not. They kept on adoring Jesus.
What can I learn from this long, slow, consistent practice of faith?
If I embrace, rather than fight against this idea, then I can affirm that God is unchanging and woos me to draw near, as He always has, for me, and for generations before me, and after me. I also can acknowledge that the American culture I live in touts the quick “success” formula with a short attention span. While I might long to go deeper at times, if I’m honest, sometimes I am pretty satisfied with shallow, if everything’s going along fine.
As I was thinking about my attention span and the long trajectory of faith, I wondered about eternity – the ultimate long haul. There is no evidence of boredom in those saying “Worthy is the Lamb” that we read in Revelation 5. The awe and wonder of the Holy God and His presence seem sufficient to adore and praise forever and ever.
I still live in my human frailty, and the culture around me, but the more I respond to God’s call to go long, the more I am able to focus my attention on Him now, practicing for eternity.
Adoremos a Jesús … O Come Let Us Adore Him …
Carla Foote