The Only Thing That Counts
Monday, February 15th, 2010Galatians 5:6 “The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love.”
The year 2009 took us through a study on the word FAITH. Now, in 2010 we will have a chance to express our faith through LOVE, our word for this year. The question for us might be this, “Do we live as though faith, demonstrated through love, really is the only thing that counts?” I must admit, much of my life I didn’t. The LORD, in His great patience with me, gently reminded me through this passage that loving God and loving others should be what my faith is about. God assesses our lives based on how we love.
We began the our study by asking how God defines love. . .
1 Corinthians 13:4-8, 13 Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails. And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.
Those words have grown tired and overly familiar, haven’t they?
Let me challenge you with a little exercise with the above verses. Take the phrase Love is patient and substitute your name for the word love. (Example: “Tim is patient . . .”)
Do it for every phrase in the passage.
By the end, I felt like a liar. How about you? If I am meant to represent what love is, then I often fail to love people well.
Following Christ isn’t something that can be done halfheartedly or on the side. It is not a label we can display when it is useful. It must be central to everything we do and are.
If we are to love our God with all our heart and love others, we are to surrender ourselves totally to God’s purposes. I would like you to join me in the pursuit of making the only thing that really counts is expressing our faith through love. The journey will not be easy or comfortable. The cost could be extreme but isn’t that what Jesus showed us?
1 John 3:16-18 This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers. If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in him? Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth.
God will bring you the most pleasure in this life and the next as we love the only way that counts.
With a pastor’s LOVE,
Tim
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