And this is love: that we walk in obedience to his commands.
As you have heard from the beginning, his command is that you walk in love. 2
John 1:6
As Christians, we are held to a whole new set of standards,
on our daily walk of life. I do not say this to scare off any who are
considering the Lord Jesus as their personal Savior. It would behoove people to
walk that path of Christ, as His benefits far outweigh anything else.
The first and foremost thing that Jesus wants, is our true
love and devotion. He wants our trust, our hopes, our dreams, our fears and
pain, and our consultation on all matters. He wants us! It’s just that simple,
however, simple can sometimes be problematic. In this age of selfishness and
“our” rights, it is a difficult thing to say, “Okay, I give up all that I am,
all that I hope to be, and all my dreams and aspirations to you, Lord. I
relinquish all my rights to you. I choose to trust you as my Lord and Master.”
If we make that decision, we become new. He cleanses us from
all our sins and makes us worthy to approach God’s throne. Now we are a
representation of Him in this world. As a result, we should now have higher
standards than we had before we came to know Christ.
So what exactly are God’s standards? God’s standard is love:
true, unobstructed, unbiased, limitless love! If we could just love Him back
with a small degree of that love, we would automatically strive to live in His
will. When we love someone, we want to spend time with them. Reading the Bible,
attending church, going to a Bible study, praying, and meditating are ways to
get to know Him better. Listening to the voice of the Holy Spirit will help us
to know God better.
Spending time with God will motivate us to set our standards
on a higher plane. When we hear His gentle whispers, we will begin to aim for
obedience. We will be more aware of things, such as: our language, our
attitudes, the pride we hold in our heart, intolerance we have for others, our
stinginess, our lack of faith, our anger, our impatience, our addictions, and
many other things.
This process of setting new standards, is built on love.
That is the foundation of our faith. Without love, striving for higher
standards is a moot point. We can work tirelessly for the Lord, but if love is
absent, we gain no value. God does not want our service, He wants our love. The
Bible clearly says of these three: faith, hope, and love; the most important is
love. Love trumps all! Our standards will
automatically rise out of our increasing love for Christ and others.
Lord Jesus,
Help me to love you more each day. Lift me up to a higher
plane of standards so that others can see Christ in me.
Amen
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