The power of the Good News is that God accepts us in spite of ourselves if we just have faith and love.
How strong is my own faith? When I read the letters of Paul, my first reaction is, How often am I mean, greedy, self-centered, easily tempted, lured by false pride?
Christ endured persecution, physical and mental torture, and a gruesome death reserved for criminals, for what? Why for us? Christ has been consistently with us to introduce us to God’s incredible undeserved loving kindness and generosity; and intercede for us with God.
To earn trust, faith and love? Amazing grace, indeed.
Paul’s answer is huge love:
Christ personifies God’s love. Where there is love, there is hope. Where there is hope, one can endure, even gladly suffer. Because God has given humankind His Son and His Holy Spirit, our hearts are or should be full of love. The incredible undeserved kindness and generosity of God is the source and strength of our faith. By faith we love and are received and accepted by God. Faith and love fill us with eternal inner peace and contentment.
At least they should.
My take: I must focus like a storm tossed helmsman on God’s love, and return that love to God the Trinity, with all my heart, strength and soul, to even come close to the goal of vanquishing inner temptations and selfish motives that too often shoal me from God. If I focus on what God has given me and those I love instead of on the distractions of this world, then I can respond to God’s love. According to my reading of Paul, faith and love together alone are all that God asks. With faith and love, we will be acceptable to God.
—Colin Radford
No comments:
Post a Comment