"Why Faith?"
Conclusion - "Love"
Why faith? Because "faith… worketh by love" (Galatians 5:6).
Love, the love of God as revealed in the Lord Jesus Christ, serves as the motivator, guide, and power of all genuine trust in our Heavenly Father. Our Lord's devotion to us leads Him to be everything we need Him to be in all things. "My God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus" (Philippians 4:19). Our experience of such grace involves the faith whereby we avail ourselves of Christ's abundance. "We have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand and rejoice in hope of the glory of God" (Romans 5:2). Thus, our Heavenly Father incessantly works in our hearts to instill confidence in Him whereby He loves us not only by supplying for all our need, but also by inspiring our trust in His provision. He thereby receives all glory and honor in our relationship with Him, but we also play a role by the response of faith in which "we love Him because He first loved us" (I John 4:19).
When I pray for fellow believers and for myself, I not only thank the Lord for His promised provision. I also ask Him to work in us to trust His assurance of supply. Indeed, believing God's promises of provision is just as important - if not more - as receiving His provision. When we ask the Lord for our daily bread, eating and enjoying that bread constitutes a wonderful physical and emotional experience of God's love for us. However, trusting Him for our sustenance involves the even more vital aspect of spiritually relating to Him in the dynamic fellowship of His love and grace received by faith. We began our Christian life in such a manner by believing and receiving. We continue the Christian life in the same way. "As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in Him" (Colossians 2:6). So, we eat our daily bread with gratitude. We also trust the Lord for our daily bread with gratitude because we realize that the faith we exercise to receive God's provision is the fruit of His love working in us.
Our Heavenly Father loves to provide for us because He so loves us. "It is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom" (Luke 12:32). He knows, however, that even more than the gifts He gives, we require relationship and fellowship with the Giver. "He is thy life" (Deuteronomy 30:20). Thus, He made us to trust Him, one of the most relational things conscious beings can do regarding one another. Moreover, He works in our hearts to provide continual opportunity for our "looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith" (Hebrews 12:2). Our Father could love us in no greater way, and we return that love in no greater way than to trust Him in "the faith which worketh by love."
"Peace to the brethren, and love with faith from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ."
(Ephesians 6:23)
Weekly Memory Verse
"Peace to the brethren, and love with faith from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ."
(Ephesians 6:23)
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