Faith, Hope and Love: But the Greatest of These is Love

You have arrived at your final day of the challenge. You have persevered through the trials, attacks and temptations that came alongside you these past weeks. You have committed to making the Lord preeminent in every aspect of your life. We are rejoicing with you, praising God for His love, grace, mercy and hand in each of our lives.

Where do we go from here? How do we continue on this journey seeking God? How do we protect ourselves from the schemes of the devil? It starts and ends with seeking God, through His word and through a continued focus on building our relationship with Him through prayer. It will align our heart and life with His character.

Through it, God entrusted us with a great responsibility. Our calling as believers is to share the good news with those around us. We can’t just hold on to it ourselves. The most important aspect of sharing God’s love with others is to reflect His word and character in the good but also the bad times of our everyday life. God’s greatest commandment is to love. In Mark 12:30-31 affirms the importance of love:  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 neighbour as thyself. There is none other commandment greater than these. Our responsibility is to share the gospel, through love, with everyone God sends our way.  We are to do this not only through words, but also through actions.

One scripture that struck me as I was writing this final day of the challenge:  I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God (Romans 12:1-2).

Only by the mercies of God are we capable of changing our lives and having a relationship with Him. Without His grace and mercy, we would still be in the midst of the sinfulness of our nature. Yet He loves us and gave His only son in order to save us. Christ gave up His seat beside the Most High to come down to earth and be crucified for us. We must remain on course and not allow the world to reclaim a preeminent position in our lives.  We’ve been granted each day for a reason and it is our prayer that we do not miss His calling and purpose for us.

God granted us to see truth. It is a gift He opened our eyes. We can’t stop here…We have to excel even more for the purpose of furthering God’s kingdom, living a life set apart for the gospel. Paul shares with us in Philippians 1:21 that for him, to live is Christ and to die is gain. How many times have we heard this verse and never truly reflected on the depth of Paul’s devotion towards Christ?

We are not of this world. Let us be transformed through His word from the inside out, living our life as a living sacrifice as we await His second coming, the day we will reign with Him in holiness and righteousness forever and ever! God never expected us to walk this path alone. We have the still small voice of the Comforter confirming our paths with loving faithfulness. We also have brothers and sisters in Christ to walk alongside us. Hebrews 3:13 reminds us to encourage one another day after day, as long as it is still called “Today,” so that none will be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin.

¹⁴ For this cause I bow my knees unto the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,

¹⁵ Of whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named,

¹⁶ That he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man;

¹⁷ That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love,

¹⁸ May be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height;

¹⁹ And to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fulness of God.

(Ephesians 3: 14-19)

This challenge has changed each of us, and we pray you, too, will face each new day with a renewed spirit.  As sisters and brothers in Christ, we will continue on this journey together. We will continue to pray for you and your families as you continue living your life for the Lord, growing in His word, and in your relationship with Him. May you stay strong and encouraged, living a life in truth and love looking forward to the day you meet the Lord Himself.