What does God expect of His children? He tells us in numerous
places in His WORD, from Genesis to Revelation.
God gave us the law and the commandments – our instructions for
holy living (Leviticus 19 & Deuteronomy 6). In the New Testament Jesus
tells us which commandment carries the most weight “…you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all
your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ The second
is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other
commandment greater than these.” Mark
12: 30-32
In the Book of Revelation the risen Jesus (the Son of Man) is dictating messages to
the disciple John for the seven established churches of that time. For the
Church in Ephesus, Jesus first recounts their admirable characteristics, and then
He names a major flaw – “But I have this
complaint against you. You don’t love me or each other as you did at first! Look
how far you have fallen! Turn back to me and do the works you did at first.” Revelation 2: 4-5
When the prophet Micah cautions the people of Israel about their ungodly life choices and the retribution they will experience, he reminds
them of God’s expectations for His people – “…and this is what He requires of you: to do what is right, to love
mercy, and to walk humbly with your God.” Micah
6:8
What God wants from His children is really quite simple: He
wants us to be His. When we obey His
most important law – loving Him and loving each other – we are saying to the
world, we belong to Him. “Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are my
disciples.” John 13:35
However, we obey this law not by doing huge acts of service but in
how we conduct the everyday affairs of living. Every act of God’s children should
take place within the confines of this rule:
How we use our
time –…all our busy rushing ends in
nothing. We heap up wealth, not knowing who will spend it. And so, Lord, where
do I put my hope? My only hope is in you. Psalm 39:4; …Teach us to
realize the brevity of life, so that we may grow in wisdom. Psalm 90:12
How we spend our
money – Honor the Lord with
your wealth and with the best part of everything you produce. Proverbs 3:9-10; If someone has enough
money to live well and sees a brother or sister in need but shows no
compassion—how can God’s love be in that person? Dear children, let’s not
merely say that we love each other; let us show the truth by our actions. 1 John 3:17-18
How we socialize – Let us think of ways to motivate one another to acts of love and good works. And let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage one another. Hebrews 10:24-25
How we communicate
– Don’t use foul or abusive language. Let
everything you say be good and helpful, so that your words will be an
encouragement to those who hear them. Ephesians
4:29; Don’t lie to each other, for you have stripped off your old sinful
nature and all its wicked deed. Colossians
3:9
How we choose play
and recreation: Teach those who
are rich in this world not to be proud and not to trust in their money, which
is so unreliable. Their trust should be in God, who richly gives us all we need
for our enjoyment. 1 Timothy 6:17
How we run our
households – She carefully watches
everything in her household and suffers nothing from laziness. Proverbs 31:27; If a man cannot manage his
own household, how can he take care of God’s church? 1 Timothy 3:5
How we conduct businesses
– When you make an agreement with your
neighbor to buy or sell property, you must not take advantage of each other. Leviticus 25:14; Remember the Lord your
God. He is the one who gives you power to be successful, in order to fulfill
the covenant he confirmed to your ancestors with an oath. Deuteronomy 8:18; Don’t
agree to guarantee another person’s debt or put up security for someone
else. Proverbs 22:26
How we interact with
our neighbors – It is foolish to
belittle one’s neighbor… Proverbs 11:12; If you can help your neighbor now,
don’t say, “Come back tomorrow, and then I’ll help you.” Don’t plot harm against your neighbor, for
those who live nearby trust you. Proverbs
3:28-29
These and a multitude of similar life matters must all fall
under the daily guidance of the “greater commandment.”
We love each other because he loved us first. If someone
says, “I love God,” but hates a fellow believer, that person is a
liar; for if we don’t love people we can see, how can we love God, whom we
cannot see? And
he has given us this command: Those who love God must also love their fellow
believers. 1 John 4:19-21
Prayer and Thanksgiving: Holy Father, you are our Creator, our Savior, the Preserver of our souls and our most loving Father. We thank you Father that through Christ and the power of your Holy Spirit we can obey your great commandment to love you and love each other. Thank you for the perfect example we have in Jesus who did nothing on His own but only what you told Him…Jesus is the Living Word that teaches us to do only what pleases you in everything so that the world will know that we are yours. Thank you for never giving us a commandment, a task, or an instruction without adding on everything that we need to perform it. We can do all things through Christ our Lord who is our strength. To you Abba belong all dominion and power for ever and ever. We pray and ask all things in the Name of Jesus. Amen.
Always by God’s Word and prayer,
Cecile
No comments:
Post a Comment