The Special of the Day… From the Orange Moon Cafe
"Live By Faith, Love By Faith"
Many matters will present themselves to our attention in this year, matters of blessing, challenge, privilege, responsibility, and issues that must be addressed to survive and thrive in this present world. Only two, however, serve as primary, central, and most vitally consequential regarding this life and the next.
"And one of the scribes came, and having heard them reasoning together, and perceiving that He had answered them well, asked Him, Which is the first commandment of all? And Jesus answered him, The first of all the commandments is, Hear, O Israel; The Lord our God is one Lord, and thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment. And the second is like, namely this, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. There is none other commandment greater than these" (Mark 12:28-31).
To love God and people - this calling first and foremost beckons us in the new year. Our initial response to this reason for our being must be the overwhelmed realization regarding so monumental a vocation. No amount of our own determination, dedication, effort, and religiosity can begin to enable our fulfillment of these greatest of all commands. Indeed, the Apostle Paul went so far as to mandate, "Walk in love, as Christ also hath loved us, and hath given Himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweetsmelling savor" (Ephesians 5:2). ?????? How can we even consider the possibility of such a journey in self sacrifice, as opposed to the self centeredness that so frequently tempts us?
Thankfully, God's commands, including these greatest of all, are always preceded by His promise of power to obey. "The love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Spirit which is given unto us" (Romans 5:5). To love God and others requires His love as the motivating, guiding, and empowering dynamic by which "we love Him because He first loved us" (I John 4:19). We seek to know His love as revealed through the Holy Spirit, the Scriptures, and our fellow believers. We then acknowledge and affirm the "shed abroad" (abundantly supplied) presence of the Holy Spirit in our hearts as the sole means by which the love we receive becomes the love we express to our Lord and people. "Beholding as in a glass (mirror) the glory of the Lord, we are changed into the same image, from glory to glory even as by the Spirit of the Lord" (II Corinthians 3:18).
To "live by faith" means that we love by faith. We choose to believe that the Christ God calls us to emulate is the Christ who lives in us to make such a wonder possible. Indeed, we could never "walk in love, as Christ also hath loved us" apart from His promise, "I will dwell in them, and walk in them" (II Corinthians 6:16). Thus, we determine to obey the two great commands. But we do so as a matter of faith and confidence that our Lord's presence and working in us alone makes such a life possible and actual. "Without Me, ye can do nothing… I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me" (John 15:5; Philippians 4:13).
The new year beckons us to a new refreshing in the love of God. Who is He in this marvel of unselfish devotion to others? "Charity (love) seeketh not its own… God is love" (I Corinthians 13:5; I John 4:8). Finding answers will first overwhelm us in wonder, and then raise us up in the encouragement and assurance that we can walk in love because the Christ of God's love walks in us. Our journey will not be perfect in this present life. It can, however, be more growing and consistent as we seek to obey the two great commands by the only means possible…
"God hath sent forth the Spirit of His Son into your hearts, crying Abba Father."
(Galatians 4:6)
"And we have known and believed the love that God hath to us. God is love; and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, and God in him."
(I John 4:16)
Weekly Memory Verse
For unto you it is given in the behalf of Christ, not only to believe on Him, but also to suffer for His sake."
(Philippians 1:29)
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