Today I want to take a few moments to consider the issue of the relationship between love and faith. In 1 Corinthians 13, the love chapter, it’s very clear how we can do so many things in life for God, but without a motive of love it’s meaningless. Even our acts of faith, without love, can lose their virtue in the sight of God. Love should be the foundation of our faith; true faith should be fueled and inextricalbly linked with God’s love. It is in knowing God’s deep and abiding love for us and others that we are able to believe that He can move every mountain we face in life.
1 Corinthians 13:7 says “Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance.” What a powerful statement! Paul in his letter to the Corinthians is outlining what God’s true agape love looks like. He had such a powerful revelation of God’s reality and love in his own life; it was real to him. God’s love never gives up on us and it’s that powerful force, which is the force of true faith.
Love believes and it never loses faith. No matter what happens, no matter what circumstance come, it continues to trust. Think of Jesus dying on the cross, loving and forgiving those who put him there. Loving His Heavenly Father, even though He felt forsaken. Love believes in the darkest times. And today I want to encourage you to allow God’s love to wash over you afresh and encourage you that with God, all things are possible.
God’s love sent Jesus to a lost world. John 3:16 the famous gospel Scripture says “God so loved the world” … then it goes on to say “that whosever believes” … In this great passage it’s clear that it’s as we begin to understand the depths of God’s love for us that saving faith begins to arise in response. God’s love is a catalyst for faith. Faith is a response to God’s love.
Galatians 5:6 tells us “For in Christ Jesus, neither circumcision nor uncircumcision has any value, The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love.” This scripture is clear there is no value in the observance of rules and laws; it is only true faith, a faith birthed in the love of God, towards God and others that has any value. Does your faith have substance, does it have weight? The best test is the love test.
As believers we need to ask God to search our hearts. If we are praying and believing God for anything that lacks the love motive, it has no value. James 4:3 says “When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures.” God will only respond to faith that is birthed from a heart of love for Jesus and the purposes of God.
Today I am believing God will reveal His love to you in a deeper way. That you will be challenged and transformed afresh. That your heart will be purified by the fire of God’s love. That your faith will be renewed and refreshed by the love of God. Jesus said in Matthew 22:36-40 that the greatest commandments were to love God and love others. All of our faith endeavors should be encompassed by these two great commandments.
Our love for God should be the the motive of our faith, and so should our love for others. When Jesus prayed for the sick the Bible says he was moved his compassion and healed them. (Matthew 14:14) Love was the motivation of His faith. When love is our motivation, miracles begin to happen.
I remember a while back at our Gospel event in Ethiopia a young man who was deaf and mute came forward for prayer and something stirred in my spirit with compassion for him. This was the compassion of Jesus for that young man. We prayed for him night after night and eventually God did a wonderful miracle for him and restored his hearing and speech. Faith that is birthed in love for others always moves the heart of God.
Today I want to encourage you, that with God all things are possible, when we believe with a heart filled with love for God. And today as a ministry we have a wonderful love for all those who partner with us and support us reaching the unsaved of the world. As a ministry we are believing God to do a wonderful miracle for you.
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