God
finds no
interest in creatures serving Him from a motive of mere servile
duty and
obligation.
“Moreover,
all
these curses shall come upon thee, and shall pursue thee, and
overtake thee,
till thou be destroyed; because thou hearkenedst not unto the
voice of the LORD
thy God, to keep His commandments and His statutes which He
commanded thee: and
they shall be upon thee for a sign and for a wonder, and upon thy
seed for
ever. Because thou
servedst not the LORD
thy God with joyfulness, and with gladness of heart, for the
abundance of all
things” (Deuteronomy 28:45-47).
Israel
revealed
its waywardness not only by their frequent disobedience, but also
by “grit your
teeth” acts of obedience that emanated not from a heart of
grateful and joyous
love. The law under which
the Jews lived
could not produce such heartfelt devotion, and was actually given
to reveal Israel’s
need for the grace that births the faithfulness of love.
“The law was our schoolmaster
to bring us
unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith… Faith worketh by
love”
(Galatians 3:24; 5:6).
The
law did not
fill the heart, but rather exposed its emptiness. The grace and truth of the
Lord Jesus grants
to us a new heart, filled with His Spirit and His love. “The love of God is shed
abroad in our hearts
by the Holy Spirit which is given unto us” (Romans 5:5). Thus, the born again believer
possesses the
potential and the power to “love, with a pure heart fervently” (I
Peter
1:22). We may not always
do so, of
course, and when we don’t, failure to avail ourselves of God’s
grace always
lies at the root of our neglect. The
writer
of Hebrews states plainly states this truth: “Let us have grace,
that we may
serve God acceptably, with reverence and godly fear” (Hebrews
12:28).
The
Apostle
Paul begins all his epistles to believers with a blessing of grace
to those who
have already received grace: “Grace to you, and peace, from God
our Father, and
from the Lord Jesus Christ” (Romans 1:7).
Why such apparent redundancy?
Because believers require an ongoing experience of grace in
order to
fulfill an ongoing walk of faith and faithfulness. Only such bestowals and
receptions stoke the
fire that burns upon the hearth of our Christ-filled hearts. “Joyfulness” and “gladness of
heart” ensue as
we walk in this Divine dynamic of perpetual grace leading to
persistent
godliness of heart, soul, mind and strength.
“Grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our
Lord and
Savior Jesus Christ.”
(II Peter 3:18)
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