Some have preached good works until there is barely a decent person left in the congregation, while others have preached free grace and dying love in such a way that sinners have become saints,and saints have been as boughs loaded down with fruit to the praise and glory of God. Having seen the harvest which comes from what we have planted, we are not going to change it at the commands of this whimsical age.
Charles H Spurgeon The Greatest Fight
Good morning. Indeed it is a good morning. The Lord has not returned yet and we still have breath to speak on his word, his holy good news, his love and long suffering. The gospel that has indeed changed the coarse of history. We have a great feeling in these days that we face times that there is a hopelessness in reasoning. Long lost is the art of conversation. We have so downgraded conversations for quick quips, short stinging rebukes, empty memes without respect. Certainly the wise have done away with real wisdom for foolish pursuit of strange and new truths. The ignorant choose to willfully remain without insight to things they have no understanding, instead looking for leaders to dictate their every thought on every matter. In essence both have exchanged truth for a more comfortable lie at worst or at best omitting that which is uncomfortable.
In seeming juxtaposition Paul preached unwavering faith to his flock, while James taught vehemently the importance of works. Admittedly throughout history we see that people are as much same yesterday today and tomorrow as our saviour is. While the gospel is this, your faith has made you whole. Not your thoughts. Not your works. Not the uttering of a prayers like a pre prepared magical incantation or hidden cheat code to the universe. Your faith makes you whole. This free grace is the utmost powerful gift that builds up believers to move mountains. This free grace gives unlimited growth to change the coarse of countries, conflicts, wars. This pure faith is what gives power to the good works that James spoke of. If our works are not backed by faith what else are they? Greed? Fear? Insurance?
You can no more have faith or good works without love. One of the Most bastardized words to pass our lips. If we speak of love without faith in a fallen world then we come to a broken meaning. There are many different ways of love and in Greek they had separate words to quickly tell of what love you are speaking of. In a society devoid of true love we have often exchanged brotherly, parental or common admiration for repetition, idolatry and empty works. We exchange the communion of similar interest for sensuality. This leads to isolation as people don’t know what love is. This leads to jealousy, which leads to resentment, anger, hate, broken families, broken children, ,divorce, murder. Diseases from promiscuity. The emptiness of unfulfilled relationships leading to shame, self loathing, depression, suicide. Often we talk on what is a sin but leave out why it is a sin. Not only where we miss the mark but why we have a mark to hit.
It is not good to be alone. It is not good for man to be alone…. We see in the beginning the God himself did not want to be alone. He took a completely void nothing and turned it into everything. Great artistry. Perfect balance. Perfect harmony. Then he did something perfectly wonderful he created man in his own image. We immediately see an image as in what we can see. Physical. We live in a physical state of being. However this I full heartedly believe not to be true. His image is spiritual. It is eternal. It is not of our understanding. His being is only described best as light. Light also is not what we see only as illumination. If you retract it you get all colors. If you harness it from the sun you get power, electricity. If you were organic as the plant kingdom it would be food for your needs in photosynthesis. When we he created us he wanted a spiritual relationship. When he created male and female, he wanted us to have a spiritual relationship. When he multiplied us he wanted us all to have a spiritual relationship. When we try to substitute one aspect of our spiritual relationship with another we suffer. Love is the spiritual bonding of our spirit to one another. Every aspect of love is important. Admiration, brotherly, sisterly, parental, comforting, sensuality. But as with all things they need to be within their perfect balance. To each pure relationship we have, the healthier we are spiritually. Each impure relationship causes your soul harm. Every denied relationship because of fear is like cancer to our spirit. Our faith will heal our spirit, and allow us our spirit to work in balance and harmony like cogs. Cogs of spiritual war, repaired by faith, held together by love, harmonious working together. Every one having our own place in the Kingdom of god which is spiritual.
For those of us steadfast in our grace received by by faith, we need to return to the basics of our common faith, which is Jesus Christ. We disagree on many things however, no matter what ethnicity, political party, status in our faith and journey towards our promise, if we stand on a strong foundation of faith and true love, the kind only the holy spirit give we will win the race.
1 Corinthians 16:13-14 ESV
Be watchful, stand firm in the faith, act like men, be strong. [14] Let all that you do be done in love.
The Path Less Traveled 