Wednesday  September 14, 2016

 

If I were to ask you who your favorite character from the Bible was, I would venture to guess that your favorite character was one that because of their faith inspired you. They inspired you because even in the midst of difficult or impossible situations, they chose to trust God. I would dare to say, that your favorite hero from the Bible was someone who believed that God was who He said He was, and trusted that God would always do what He said He would do. Having said this, in my humble estimation, no hero of the Bible can ever come close to matching the level of faith that Jesus had.

 

As we read the Gospels and study the life of Jesus, we must always remember that although Jesus was God in a body, He was also 100% human. He had to grow up and learn the same way we did, he had human limitations like us, and He was tempted just like us though He never committed any sin. As Jesus grew, so did his faith. His faith grew to the degree that He never did anything that God had not commanded Him to do, and when He spoke, every word was spoken in the manner His heavenly Father instructed Him to speak. If there ever was a person who could choose to what ever they wanted and say whatever they wanted, in the tone of their choosing, that would have to be Jesus. However, Jesus trusted God’s direction in everything that He did and said, even in the manner in which he did and said things.

 

If you think about it, if having faith means doing and saying only those things that God instructs us to do and say, then having faith is impossible. To begin with, we do not even know all of God’s commands, and the ones we do know, we fail to put into practice. There is Good News! Having faith is simple; all we have to do is to follow Jesus’ command.

 

JOHN 15:12 NIV

 My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you.  

 

MATTHEW 22:35-40 NIV

One of them, an expert in the law, tested him with this question: “Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?” Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment.  And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”

 

Becoming a person of faith is not complicated, it might be difficult but it is not complicated. All that is required is a commitment to love God above everything, even above one’s own life. Then, we need to love others the way Jesus loves us and not the way we are accustomed to loving each other. If this is too difficult, then you must love God with everything that you have and love others as much as you love yourself.

 

To walk in Jesus’ shoes is to love God with all your heart, soul, and mind; then love your neighbor as you love yourself.