In review of Galatians 5:6 this morning I read, “When we are in Christ Jesus, it is not important if we are circumcised or not. The important thing is faith, the kind of faith that works through love” (CEV)
I am saved by faith, not by my deeds. Love for others and for God is the response of those whom God has forgiven. God's forgiveness is complete, and Jesus said that those who are forgiven much, love much. My faith will express itself through love. I can check my love for others as a way to monitor my faith.
God says what matters in life is not my accomplishments, achievements, fame or wealth. The only thing that matters is having a faith that causes me to love others. If I miss that, I have missed the most important thing in life.
In 1 Corinthians 13. Paul says the same thing five different ways: The most important thing in life is love. Here are the first four of the five reasons why. If I don’t live a life of love:
1. Then nothing I say will matter. “If I could speak all the languages of earth and of angels, but didn’t love others, I would only be a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal” (1 Corinthians 13:1 NLT).
We tend to be really impressed by great speakers. We love eloquence and charisma. But God says, “I don’t care how good of a communicator you are. Are you living a life of love?” If I’m not, then nothing I say will matter. Words without love are just noise.
2. Then nothing I know will matter. “I may have the gift of prophecy. I may understand all the secret things of God and have all knowledge . . . But even with all these things, if I do not have love, then I am nothing” (1 Corinthians 13:2 NCV).
I live in a world where knowledge is exploding. We seem to be smarter than we’ve ever been. But we still have the same problems: crime, abuse, prejudice, violence. Why? Because the world doesn’t need more knowledge. It needs more love. God says if I don’t have love in my life, all that I know is worthless.
3. Then nothing I believe will matter. The Bible says, “Even if I had the gift of faith so that I could speak to a mountain and make it move, I would still be worth nothing at all without love” (1 Corinthians 13:2 TLB).
There’s a myth that being a follower of Christ is just a matter of believing certain truths. Nothing can be further. Following Christ is about living a life of love. It takes more than belief to please God.
4. Then nothing I give will matter. The next verse says, “If I gave everything I have to the poor and even sacrificed my body, I could boast about it; but if I didn’t love others, I would have gained nothing” (1 Corinthians 13:3 NLT).
Love isn’t always the motivation for giving. Some people give just to get back or out of guilt or for control or prestige. I can give for a lot of wrong motives, but the Bible says if I’m not doing it out of love, none of my giving counts.
When I don’t live a life of love, it’s clear about what happens.
In following Christ, the important thing is faith, the kind of faith that works through love. For I am saved by faith and not by my deeds. Love for God and others is the response of those whom God has forgiven. Those who are forgiven much, love much. So my faith will express itself through love. My accomplishments, achievements, fame or wealth do not matter. The only thing that does is having the kind of faith that causes me to love others. If I don't live a life of love, then nothing I can say, know, believe, or give will matter. Lack of love on my part is clear.
My faith needs to be expressed in love. Nothing I have or know will matter. Only love is how I will make a difference in the lives of others. This morning Father I thank you for this reminder and perspective. I pray that you help bring these things to mind as I go about my life. I ask you for wisdom and guidance for today, my task, my work, my leadership and in completing compliance actions to reach my organization's goals. I ask these things through you Son Jesus name, Amen.
0 comments:
Post a Comment