“This is dedicated to the one I love.” I’m a junior in high school, reading in my room and listening to a pop station on my clock radio. Michelle Phillips of the Mamas and the Papas sings the introduction to their 1967 hit about devotion, separation, and sacrifice. Whenever I hear that song, I remember my younger self but experience those themes differently. 

Now nearly six decades beyond adolescence, I’ve come to understand the word dedicated in both human and holy terms. To be devoted to God as in marriage. To be separated, set apart in one’s mission and given over to the Lord. To sacrifice in love and to God. To be dedicated imperfectly because of the Both-And of our humanity and holiness.

Here’s a link to a related post: Almost heaven and very nearly but not quite there yet.

Dedicated and Devoted

Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters, Colossians 3:23 NIV

“This is dedicated to the one I love.” I felt deeply devoted to that feeling at sixteen, though I had no actual knowledge of romantic or spiritual love. Being young and inexperienced, I thought all I had to do was to tell all the stars above how I felt. But feelings and whispered star-prayers can’t tell us how to be dedicated and what devotion looks like in action, at least not reliably, as those who have been married know well.

Paul’s letter to the Colossians tells us to “work at it with all your heart,” it meaning faith, working not for humans but for Christ, our ultimate master. Working like the five wise virgins who kept oil—their faith—ready for the return of the Bridegroom, Jesus, and witnessing to that dedication in our human relationships. Being dedicated in every task as an act of worship and devotion, not to earn grace or salvation, which is not possible, but to glorify God instead of ourselves.

Dedicated and Separated

So now I give him to the Lord. For his whole life he will be given over to the Lord.” And he worshiped the Lord there. 1 Samuel 1:28 NIV

“This is dedicated to the one I love.” Oh, how I wanted to fit in as a teenager and young adult, to gain approval and success, to feel powerful and loved. The first hint that there was something more important than my wants happened the moment I discovered a higher purpose, as a teacher. That dedicated calling separated me from pursuing other purposes; teaching set me apart. 

I didn’t begin to understand the implications of the story about Hannah and her son Samuel until I came to faith in my third season of life. Hannah gave her child to God, which all parents do in some form or another, as children are gifts from God, not possessions. Samuel gave himself over to the Lord, worshiping the Lord, as Christians do in some form or another. A lifelong dedication in humility, gratitude, and reverence, service to our faithful God.

Dedicated and Sacrificial

Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. Romans 12:1 NIV

“This is dedicated to the one I love.” My adolescent heart led me to believe that devotion in love would be easy. Though separation was difficult, all we lovers had to do was to have faith in one another and keep each other in our hearts. Once the stars bridged the physical distance—overcoming the sacrifice of being apart—we would get everything we wanted.

Then I discovered the wisdom in Paul’s letters to the Romans. Dedication to God is sacrificial. To become living and holy sacrifices, we give up control and selfish wants and live for Christ. Sacrificial worship means surrender to spiritual worship, submission, obedience to God’s Word and the Gospel. Dedicated love is not about singing songs or whispering prayers to stars, it’s about God changing hearts and minds.

In moment-to-moment, sacrificial surrender, we become dedicated to the One who loves us. 

Linkup with Five Minute Friday

On Fridays I send Friday Happy Hours: a recipe from our kitchen and a story about marriage in the third season of life. It is free, it arrives at the end of the week, and it gives a lighter touch to the experiences in this season. Come sit down with us – here.

Wisdom Builds Her House

In 2010 I left a 34-year career in education to build a mountain home with my husband. The literal house went up. Building the metaphorical one took longer. Four mysteries got in the way: my husband’s daughter, who I never met; who I was once I was neither teaching nor raising children; what really happened in 1957 when a man came to rob our house and hurt my mother; and how those things were connected. A memoir from Brandylane Publishers, in paperback, e-book, and audiobook. Find it here.