" If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames,
but have not love, I gain nothing."
I Corinthians 13:3
This can be a tough one. It reminds me in Matthew 7:21-23, when Jesus was saying many will say they had prophesied in His name, drove out demons and performed miracles, but he will tell them plainly He never knew them. We can have all the best intentions. We could give up all our worldly possessions and do the greatest works. But...if we do not know him...what have we gained?
"What good will it be for a man if he gains the whole world, yet forfeits his soul? Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul?" Matthew 16:26
My first thought is that we need to know Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. Without first settling the question of our own eternal destination we will not be able to successfully further the Kingdom of God.
My second thought on this verse is that all we do should be done out of love. "By this all men will know that you are my disciples if you love one another." John 13:45 Not just show love and kindness to other believers, but also to those less fortunate. In Matthew 25:31-46 Jesus tells an interesting parable about how when we show his love to the less fortunate and treat them kindly we are in effect treating him the same way. Likewise when we mistreat people.
There is so much more to be said on love and how we treat people. There is also so much more I could go into about this verse, but I just wanted to keep it simple and highlight a couple of thoughts the Lord put on my heart today. So, I'll wind down with this: What do you hope to gain? Really...think about the result God wants you to end up with. How can you show love along the way? Are you in some way helping out those less fortunate than you? Perhaps you are the less fortunate one. Remember, you can always give of your time and pray for others. Lastly, are you motivated by a love for Christ or a love of the attention the work you do brings to yourself?
"What good will it be for a man if he gains the whole world, yet forfeits his soul? Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul?" Matthew 16:26
My first thought is that we need to know Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. Without first settling the question of our own eternal destination we will not be able to successfully further the Kingdom of God.
My second thought on this verse is that all we do should be done out of love. "By this all men will know that you are my disciples if you love one another." John 13:45 Not just show love and kindness to other believers, but also to those less fortunate. In Matthew 25:31-46 Jesus tells an interesting parable about how when we show his love to the less fortunate and treat them kindly we are in effect treating him the same way. Likewise when we mistreat people.
There is so much more to be said on love and how we treat people. There is also so much more I could go into about this verse, but I just wanted to keep it simple and highlight a couple of thoughts the Lord put on my heart today. So, I'll wind down with this: What do you hope to gain? Really...think about the result God wants you to end up with. How can you show love along the way? Are you in some way helping out those less fortunate than you? Perhaps you are the less fortunate one. Remember, you can always give of your time and pray for others. Lastly, are you motivated by a love for Christ or a love of the attention the work you do brings to yourself?
No comments:
Post a Comment