Keep the Main "Thing" the Main Thing

2nd Kings Verses 34-35: He did not tear down the high places. However, he did build the upper gate....

I have been journaling through the Bible this year and came across this passage. I felt like God pricked me in the heart (in the loving Father way). So many times we lose focus on what is the MAIN thing in our lives. We usually lose it when we experience a level of success or when we are searching for the wrong kind of success.

This passage dealt with the building of a gate. The king also allowed the high places to exist. The high place was where they had erected a golden calf to worship. For generations the people of God had lost focus. However, he did build a gate. Did you catch that? He built a stinking gate. Was the gate beneficial? Yes. Was it a worthy accomplishment? I guess so.

BUT, the building of the upper gate was secondary to the fact that people were not in full devotion to the Lord. This is corporate and personal. What we build in ministry or at a job is never as important as being fully devoted followers of Christ. Christ did not die so we could build gates! He died so we would stop worshipping stuff we build and put the focus back on the cross. Our building of things will not pass to the next life, but our building of people will.

The job and goal is to make sure that our fuel and motivation is the love of God that was given to us by way of the cross. This may sound like an 80 year old man is writing this blog, but we have to keep Christ and His saving work central to all we do.

Church leaders, think about this...
1. Are you more interested in building a great "church institution," or in building disciples?
2. Do you "drive" people by the cross everytime you speak?
3. Do people know that EVERYTHING they will ever need was done on and through the cross?
4. Do you train people to chase blessings with works righteousness or challenge them to soak in the fact that they have every blessing already because of the cross?
5. Do you care as much about mentoring individuals as you do "performing" sermons each week?

Don't build gates your whole life and never deal with the high places. There is no substitute for it. Direct people to simply love Jesus, receive His work and then help them as they walk this journey. That is what it is about.

We have to keep the cross the priority, Christ central and everything else is just the "high place."