Divine Consumerism

"The zeal for Your house will consume me" John 2:17

In this age of Wal-mart, we all know what it means to consume. We know that the reason Wal-mart exists is because when we buy things, we use them. When we use things, we lose them. When we lose things, we need more things! And we know that when something is consumed, it is used up, and is no longer useful. Isn't that the point of consuming? But what if something could be consumed, and yet retain its properties? What if something could be assimi-lated and yet retain autonomy?

When God consumes something, it continues to be useful after consumption! In John 4:13-14 Jesus talks about consuming living water and never thirsting again; in Exodus 3:2, fire engulfs the bush, and yet the bush doesn't burn up; and in Acts 2, the Spirit of God envelopes the disci-ples and they become more useful than ever.

But why does it matter? How does this effect us? Simply this, the Spirit of God wants to consume us. God is never satisfied with a part of our lives. But that's what we tend to give God – a part of our lives. We cordon him off to Sundays and maybe one other night. We have our "spiritual side" that God has free reign over. But God is never satisfied with only part. He is interested in consuming us. God is interested in directing every aspect of our lives by his Spirit. It's a scary prospect – until we remember that when God consumes he multiplies; when God consumes he makes that thing eternally useful. So let us make this "Wesleyan covenant prayer" our own as the season of Pentecost begins:

Gracious and Compassionate God, I am no longer my own, but Yours. Put me to whatever you will, Place me with whomever You will. Put me to doing, put me to suffering. Let me be employed by You or laid aside for You, exalted for You or humiliated for You. Let me be full, let me be empty. Let me have all things, let me have nothing. I freely and completely yield all things to your pleasure and disposal.

And now, O glorious and blessed God, You are mine, and I am yours. Let it be so. And let the covenant which I have made on earth, be ratified in heaven. Amen.

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