FAITH, LOVE AND HOPE
We always thank God for all of you and continually mention you in our prayers. We remember before our God and Father your work produced by faith, your labor prompted by love, and your endurance inspired by hope in our Lord Jesus Christ.
1 Thessalonians 1:2-3 (NIV)
Superstitions are simply an improper relationship between cause and effect. Walking under a ladder won’t give you seven years of bad luck. Knocking on wood doesn’t mean trouble won’t come your way. Stepping on a crack won’t break your momma’s back. One thing doesn’t always lead to another.
I’m not superstitious, but unfortunately, I lived a long time with an improper view of cause and effect. I believed that my actions caused God to do things. I wrongly believed that I earned God’s love by doing good things. I thought that when I did something wrong, God loved me less. It even crossed my mind that if God didn’t answer a prayer, it was because I didn’t have enough faith.
This passage reveals something different. God is the one who causes the effect, not the other way around. My work doesn’t earn God’s love. It’s His love that compels me to work. The faith and hope He’s given me is the reason (the cause) for what I do (the effect). What a great reminder that my strength and power come from God!
APPLICATION:
Today, stop striving. Give up the idea of trying to make God happy with you. Pay attention when doing things from a place of duty and obligation and ask God to refill your heart with His love. Surrender and ask God to increase your faith. Then, YES! By all means, do good things. Work hard. Love your neighbor. But do acts of goodness from a heart that overflows from God working in you.
PRAYER:
God,
Thank You that I don’t have to earn Your love. Thank You that I’m fully known and fully loved. Forgive me for doing things backward, forgetting that it’s You working in me that produces good work. I ask You to deepen my faith, help me experience Your love, and fill me with hope so I can live my life more fully for You.
In Jesus’ name, Amen.