“For we have heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and your love for all of God’s people ...” (Colossians 1:4)
What would you consider to be some of the keys to success in life, and to living a strong Christian life? Habits like prayer, Bible reading, Church attendance, etc, do help us to live strong lives. But the real keys to living a strong life are found in Colossians 1:4.
Faith in Christ Jesus is certainly a foundational principle of the Christian life. We begin a relationship with Jesus by putting our faith in Him. Ephesians 2:8-9 reminds us that we don’t become Christians through attending Church services, being moral, or even being baptized, but by believing Jesus is Humankind’s Savior and putting our trust in Him.
The Bible says that we are to “live by faith” in the Lord (Romans 1:17, Galatians 2:20). That means that every day we are to trust that the Lord is available to help us, strengthen us, guide us, provide for us and protect us and depend on Him. We won’t live a vibrant and victorious life unless we daily “live by faith.” As we learned last Sunday, living by faith leads to security, ministry involvement, and generosity.
Love is another foundational principle of the Christian life. According to the Bible, we are to love God, love all other Christians, and love the people around us in the world, even when they may not love God or love us. Jesus said in John 13:35 that the world will know we are His disciples if we truly demonstrate love for other people.
Now, it’s easy to say that we love someone but harder to demonstrate that we love others. We demonstrate our love for others when we care for them, spend time with them, serve them, forgive them, share our faith with them, etc. 1 John 3:18 says, “Let’s not merely say that we love each other; let us show the truth by our actions.”
So, how are you doing when it comes to “living by faith” and “loving other people”? No matter how knowledgeable, moral, or successful we are in other areas of life, we have to “live by faith” and “love others” to live a vibrant and victorious life.
Prayer - Lord, show me how I can up my game regarding “living by faith” and “loving others.” And help me to always make those principles priorities in my life.
Reflection - Where am I falling short when it comes to “living by faith” and “loving others,” and what steps can I take to up my game in those areas of my life?
