5/4/05 Acquiring


Deu 5:16  Respect your father and mother--GOD, your God, commands it! You'll 
have a long life; the land that God is giving you will treat you well. 
Deu 5:17  No murder. 
Deu 5:18  No adultery. 
Deu 5:19  No stealing. 
Deu 5:20  No lies about your neighbor. 
Deu 5:21  No coveting your neighbor's wife. And no lusting for his house, field, 
servant, maid, ox, or donkey either--nothing that belongs to your neighbor! 

     The list of "don'ts". It's interesting that Jesus said He came to fulfill all of the law 
and that the only commands deserving full attention are to love the Lord with all 
your heart and your neighbor as your self. It just came to me once again; that there is 
a false enticement in anything that gratifies, even the things that legitimately bring 
pleasure that isn't prohibited. Whenever there is something that is desired and 
something that is sought after, the pleasure it brings is usually just in the moment of 
its acquisition. This is why just getting or having something isn't enough. There will 
be a subsequent desire for more and a drive to expend more energy to acquire it. The 
neighbor's wife will not suffice after she has been acquired.  There will soon be 
another one that begins to look attractive. (Maybe that's really why there are so many 
desperate housewives?) The new boat will bring satisfaction for a while, but will lose 
its gratification after a period of time. The true joy really comes in the acquiring of 
something and maintaining its quality and value. This is true for all aspects of 
pleasure, even for those that are heavenly and right, including knowledge and 
understanding. There may be a certain amount of gratification in past things that 
have been accomplished and attained, but there is so much more that lies yet ahead. 
Life is about producing and functioning in the role for which we were created, and 
it's not about the object of production as much as it's about the process of creation. 
     This is why it is important in living our abundant life in Christ for us to continue 
being gratified by Him. Just like everything else, unless He is a new and fresh 
acquisition every day, and unless we are consumed with maintaining the quality and 
value of our relationship with Him, there will be a loss of appreciation and a loss of 
pleasure in Him. What we have acquired and what we have learned in the past will 
not be enough for today and tomorrow. It is possible, though, to find Him in a brand 
new way every day, to live in a continual state of acquiring Him. There is always a 
new rock of revelation to be turned over and a new realm of glory to be discovered by 
the Spirit. Then, where sin carries consequences that will be devastating, the 
acquiring of Him will endlessly carry blessing and favor, transporting us yet again to 
a place of peace and tranquility in His presence. 
     Let my coveting and longing be for that next moment in Him, for that next breath 
that carries the scent of His nearness. The satisfaction doesn't have to end, and it 
won't as long as the acquisition continues.