When decisions need to be made within the church do we pray together as one for God to reveal His will in them, or do the elders, and pastors, select small committees to seek God’s guidance on behalf of the whole; perhaps even sending some Saints away to pray individually, and in solitude? We gain solidarity, harmony, and unity by kneeling together in prayer, and yet so often, we behave like the world and divide ourselves into diverse camps.
There are times in our lives of faith when we come face to face with something we refer to as the silence of God. We pray for a thing that we know in our heart is within His will, and worthy of being prayed for in the name of Jesus, yet nothing seems to come of it. The question is… do we continue to pray each day for this thing, and not lose faith in God’s promise? Do we persevere in our faith and prayer as we wait on the Lord?
The fruits of the Spirit are many, and wonderful, but the first of these fruits that Paul mentions in his letter to the Galatians is love, and rightfully so. When we first believe, and receive the Spirit, love is the first of the Spirit’s fruits that we are filled with. After the love of God comes upon us then the rest are made possible, and the fruits of the Spirit begin to set us apart as Christians. Without love the others can’t exist in us. So have we been changed, and opened ourselves up to the love that is offered us through the Holy Spirit?
Once we have come to love those around us as Jesus has commanded us to do, how do we go about showing that love? We say that there is no greater love than to lay down our life for another, but do we understand the full meaning of this verse? There is also another way we can demonstrate our love that actually saves our life, and the lives the ones we love… that is to bring back a sinner from their wandering.
Loving God, and Jesus, is easy because they love us so completely, and they want nothing but goodness, and the best for us; loving other believers can be a bit harder, because their love for us is human, and often flawed, but it is still relatively easy; however, when it comes to loving those who aren’t believers it can be quite a different thing, because these, who we are also told to love, may hate us, find our beliefs intolerable, and want every terrible thing to befall us. So today let’s ask ourselves… are we loving one another as we should, and as we are commanded to do?
Are you a self-proclaimed realist who doesn’t believe in things you are unable to see with your eyes, and touch with your hands? Do you doubt the goodness of food even though its smell makes your mouth water, and the sight of it is appealing? will you refuse to call it good until you have tasted it with your tongue, and felt it’s texture in your mouth? In the circle of faith we associate such behavior with unbelievers, but I am also describing many who call themselves Christians as well. They read God’s Word, and lean towards belief, but need to touch it like Thomas did. They wait on the cusp of their salvation for a salty sip of blood from the cup of Christ which will allow them to believe in earnest.
Do we understand what it means to live fully in the love of Jesus Christ, and God Himself? Do we see it as the driving force behind every interaction they have with us, and that we have with them? Do we live out that selfsame love in our own lives… pouring it out upon all those who we come into contact with? Sometimes we find ourselves reserving that love for those people and circumstances that we feel are worthy, and dole it out as if we only had a tiny bit to give, and that each drop is precious, but God’s love is unlimited, and this is the same love He gives to Jesus, and Jesus to us. Our love is indeed precious but its value is in its effect… not in its quantity… give it freely!
When Jesus gave His disciples the bread of His body during the first Communion, He did not cut it with a knife, or have it prepared with a perforation so that it would break cleanly into pieces. Jesus took a loaf of bread and simply broke it. Unlike a wafer it didn’t snap cleanly, but tore, and it’s edges were jagged, uneven, and ripped asunder; it was a messy tear. This is how He died for us… He died just as we live and die… messy, torn, imperfect, and yet made to be righteous, by His sacrifice, resurrection, and our coming ascension upon His return.
Do we love God, and Jesus Christ, as we should, like we did when we first believed? Or, have we allowed the mechanics of our religion to become the focus of our spirit’s efforts, and lost sight of loving God with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength? We say we love, but do we truly love our Father, or just the things we believe that we are doing for Him? Do we say the repetitive words in worship that we believe will honor Him, but find that we have abandoned our walks with Him in the cool of the evening? Have we allowed ourselves to become as the Ephesians?
How do we ask for forgiveness, or do we remember to do so at all? Do we think that God’s promise to forgive us makes facing our transgressions trivial, and that asking Him to forgive us has become a non-event? No, asking for forgiveness is not trivial, and it will destroy our relationship with the Lord if we are not careful about this part of our faith, and worship. God will certainly forgive us, but we must confess our sins with a contrite heart, being remorseful, and sincerely desiring to go and sin no more.
We begin singing a simple hymn as children that contains a wonderful message for us, “Jesus Loves Me”. The lyrics were first written as a poem of encouragement for sick children, then they were included in the novel “Say and Seal” where they were read to a dying child, and later were set to music to become the encouraging hymn of love that is sung today. In whatever form these words have taken, the message never fades, and to this day we are encouraged by it, and comforted by the three simple words of its promise… “Jesus loves me”… and the affirmation of our belief… “this I know!”
Without the Word of God we are lost, and without His Son Jesus Christ we will remain so. God’s Holy Word teaches us of life, of Himself, and of His Son Jesus. It gives us His commandments, promises, and His assurance that we are not alone, but it also reveals our deep affliction in sin, and how precarious our life is relative to eternal death. Then, in our darkest hour, and deepest moment of hopelessness, comes Jesus, sent by God’s love, and prophesied of throughout God’s Word… our healer, savior, and redeemer who is the vessel of God’s amazing grace.
As we live out our lives we find that we struggle day and night to reach, and then to maintain ourselves, in purity, and righteousness. Thankfully, we continue to grow in our maturity, and find ourselves strengthened all the more in our faith, and the maintenance of it, but let there be no doubt that even the spiritually aged, with all their knowledge and wisdom, still wrestle with the world for control of their souls. So how is it that the babies, and the young people in faith can dare hope to keep their way pure if their elders are struggling?
How often do we consume the Word of God? You will notice that I said consume, and not read, because merely reading it is not enough; God’s Holy Word is meant to nourish our soul, strengthen our spirit, and heal us of the wounds inflicted by the world. God’s Word is an inoculation against the pandemic of sin, and medicine that heals us body, mind, and soul from the spiritual wounds we might receive in life. Do we simply acknowledge the Bible, knowing of the Word, perhaps even rubbing a little of it on our skin, or do we take it internally as daily nourishment, medicine, and the knowledge that feeds God’s wisdom within us?
Some of us are just now beginning to know Jesus, while others have known Him for some time, and yet we can be challenged in believing, or some life event can cause us to struggle with our faith. Well this is not uncommon, and Jesus has an answer for what we are going through, He tells us to do two very straight forward things… don’t fear, and just believe. One of the dark one’s greatest weapons against our faith is fear, and another is to use our worldly reasoning to argue against a simple childlike trait that all believers possess… the innocent faith of a child.