Series: The Reign of God in Our Hearts
You shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart.
Peter, do you love me? Feed my sheep.
Why questions are important questions. Why do you want to marry her/him? Why do you want to go to school there? Why do you like that field of study? Why did you decide to take that opportunity? On and on it goes. Some reasons are better than other reasons. “Why” gives us some insight in what motivates us to do certain things.
Faith growth is essentially a “why” question, too. Why am I a Christian? Why do I serve people? Why do I honor the teaching of the Word about holiness? Why do I look for ways to encourage other believers and build up my congregation? Why is my faith growing? Why is it in disarray?
I like listening to Paul offer up (and remind us!) of his “why” for serving Jesus. Do these sound familiar?
- By the grace of God I am what I am (1 Cor. 15:8-10)
- Thanks be to God for His indescribable gift (2 Cor. 9:15)
- The love of Christ compels us (2 Cor. 5:14)
- Do you think lightly of the riches of His kindness and forbearance and patience not knowing that the kindness of God leads you to repentance? (Romans 2:4)
- You obeyed from the heart that form of teaching which saves. (Romans 6:17)
These simple texts take us back to the headwaters of faith and more importantly, what sustains our faith. We aren’t simply baptized and added to the church. Jesus said to Peter, “If you love me, feed my sheep.” I guess another way of putting it would be, “Peter, how do you regard me in your heart? Think about that as you enter into ministry with me.”
The story in Luke 7 stirs my heart every time I read it. What would I have done if I had been there? A uninvited woman breaks into the banquet and plops down at Jesus’ feet. It’s socially awkward. Her gratitude compels her to toss social protocol aside. She rests at Jesus’ feet, applying perfume, kissing them, weeping on them and wiping the tears with her hair. By any cultural standard that’s strange to say the least. But, “thank you!” is the only thing on her mind. Jesus turns to the offended host and says, “I tell you, her many sins have been forgiven – for she loved much. But he who has been forgiven little loves little” (Luke 7:47).
I think that is the baseline for spiritual maturation. Being gripped in our hearts by the magnitude of grace, our sinfulness, our utter desperation and what God has done for us is first order business for genuine faith growth and enduring discipleship. We get up in the morning with a “why” for living and serving in the gospel that compels us forward with zest and purpose. It isn’t tradition, or peer pressure or a strange sense of “ought to”. It’s because our hearts have been turned over. We have become as those who are willing to do whatever and be whatever because God has done the most extraordinary thing for us. Perhaps that’s what Jesus meant when he said, “If you love me you will keep my commandments.”
Prayer:
Father, may our hearts be captivated by the power of your love and mercy. May our lives be surrendered each day to the gospel as a celebration of praise and thanksgiving that reaches into every corner of our lives. May your will be ours and your holiness sought after because our hearts are lost in pursuit of yours. Amen.
Randy Daugherty
Stephenville, Texas
No comments:
Post a Comment