“And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of these is charity.” (1st Cor. 13:13)
To grow in the grace and knowledge of the Lord is impossible unless you read, study and contemplate His Word, and it is impossible for those who have not been born-again, for although they may read, the truths of the Scriptures are revealed only to those who have within them the Holy Spirit.
They may study, and even contemplate at great length the Word of God, but it will be only head knowledge, His truths will never, and can never, be understood by those whose hearts are still of stone.
There may even be actions which are seen as fruits of the Spirit, yet these are deceiving themselves, and those who have been blessed with Spiritual discernment from the Almighty will see these for who they are.
“These are spots in your feasts of charity, when they feast with you, feeding themselves without fear: clouds they are without water, carried about of winds; trees whose fruit withereth, without fruit, twice dead, plucked up by the roots;” (Jude 1:12)
Our heart that deceives us can be recognized as such, the mind that serves Christ is well aware of the flesh that serves the law of sin within us, and is just as able to discern those who profess to have that which only those who are hid in Christ have been blessed to receive, a heart whose sole intent is to lift up the name of the Lord Jesus Christ to the glory of God the Father.
Here you can put yourself to the test, here you can apply 1 Corinthians 11:31 and look into the mirror of your soul to see who it is you love above all others and why.
“For if we would judge ourselves, we should not be judged.”
“Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith; prove your own selves. Know ye not your own selves, how that Jesus Christ is in you, except ye be reprobates?” (2nd Cor. 13:5)
You should know this; you should be able to recognize not only the emotion of love but see in your past and present actions love. But above all you should be able to recognize why you love Him who first loved you.
This is a question that, in all truthfulness, has no singular answer.
We are saved from His eternal wrath, the penalty for our sins has been paid in full, we are forever His, our assurance is without question. We will never know condemnation in any form, but instead joy eternally.
Why He chose us is completely up to the Living God, and my friends, if you can understand this truth, you will find it of great value as you walk the path set before you by our Father in heaven.
Why we serve Him is so much more important than how we serve Him.
A sincere heart will produce, by His guidance, actions of love, the face that has set itself as a flint to seek His face for His glory will do so because of love. We obey not so much because we are commanded to, but because of the knowledge of the truth of John 14:15.
“If ye love me, keep my commandments.”
“For I determined not to know any thing among you, save Jesus Christ, and him crucified.” (1st Cor. 2:2)
We show our love for Him by our actions towards others, and yes, that means correcting, reproving and rebuking when necessary, it means warning the wicked if they refuse to repent and call upon Him of what they can expect. It means never breaking that bruised reed.
The fruits of the Spirit are only done through those who love Him above all else, those to whom Philippians 1:21 is an unquestionable truth.
“For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.”
Love does not drive us, it does not even so much compel us, it pulls us to the Creator of love, and our hearts rejoice with each step.
When the Lord Jesus Christ went to the cross it was in part because of His love for us, but it was not the main reason, we were not the main reason. It was His love for the Father, and our obedience to Him can only be revealed by the same, a sincere heart acting solely out of a love for Him who first loved us.
