|
How
Can I
Live Forever?
Chapter
1
In Search Of Love
Paul
concludes his inspired discourse on love with the
declaration that `there are three things that last
forever; faith, hope and love.'
At this
point in time we might not realize the full significance
of these words, but this is destined to
change . . . when the economies of the
world collapse, when money no longer has any value, when
the food stores are closed for lack of produce, when
most or all of us are unemployed, when trouble is
everywhere, and violence threatens around every turn,
then we can expect that God's children will cling to
these words with every tendon of their spiritual energy.
At that time there will certainly be little else to
cling to.
Yet
these words have a present as well as a future relevance,
for we have been told that . . .
`Faith,
hope and love are the great moral powers of the soul.'
(3T188)
We
might even say, therefore, that what food, water and
fresh air are to our physical life, faith, hope and love
are to our spiritual life, for . . .
`It
is through the exercise of faith, hope and love that we
come nearer and nearer to the standard of perfect
holiness.' (3T187-8)
More
than this, if our faith, our hope and our love are in
short supply, our personal ministry, whatever that
may be, is doomed to failure for, "if these are
inactive, a minister may be ever so earnest and zealous,
but his labor will not be accepted of God, and cannot be
productive of good to the church." (3T187)
If
faith, hope and love are of such importance, and if
these are the keys to success in all of our endeavors
in the interests of God's kingdom, then we must find
out, as a matter of utmost urgency, just what we can do
to promote the development of these powers in our souls?
Where lies the pathway that leads to the eternally
flowing fountains of faith, hope and love?
God
has not left us without answers. Our first answer is
found in Paul's letter to the Galatian believers. Here
Paul declares that . . .
`The
only thing that counts is faith expressing itself
through love.' (Galatians 5:6)
Notice
from these words that love is an expression of faith. In
other words, love is something that grows out of faith.
From this we deduce that if we want our hearts to be
filled with that very special ingredient called love, we
should not focus on love, or on being more loving, but
on faith - for love is the fruit of faith.
If this is the case, then, as ducks after water, we
should go in search of faith.
But just how do we increase our faith? Once again Paul
provides the answer. He tells us that . . .
`Faith
and love spring from the hope that is stored up for you
in heaven.' (Colossians 1:5)
This
means that if we want increased faith, an
increased faith that will lead to increased love, we
should not focus on either our faith or our love. Rather,
we should go in search of hope, for hope is the source
of faith, which, in turn, is the source of love.
It
is obvious, therefore, that we can never make ourselves
more faithful or more loving by trying to be more
faithful or more loving. The only way that we can have
increased faith and increased love is to have increased
hope, for the Word of God assures us that as our hope grows,
so will our faith grow, and as our faith grows, so will
our love grow.
This
then leads us to ask yet another vital question, and
that is, How can we have increased hope? Paul again
comes to our aid. He reminds us
that . . .
`Faith
and love spring from the hope that is stored up for you
in heaven and that you have heard about in the word of
truth, the gospel that has come to you.' (Colossians
1:5,6)
So
here we have an inspired succession of thought. The
gospel is the source of hope, hope is the source of
faith, and faith is the source of
love.
This
means that the key to a changed heart, the key that will
give us victory in the Christian life, the key that will
give us success in our personal ministry, is a right
understanding of the hope that is held out for us in the
gospel. Through the knowledge of the true gospel,
and of all that it embraces, we will be filled with
hope, a hope that generates faith, and a faith that
generates love. This is why Paul preached the
gospel at every opportunity. He knew
that . . .
“The gospel of His grace ALONE can cure the evils
that curse society.” {COL254.2}
"When the gospel is received in its purity and power, it
is a cure for the maladies that originated in sin."
Paul surely understood that
"The gospel is adapted for spiritual food, to satisfy
man's spiritual appetite. In every case it is just
what man needs." (RY131; 1SM245)
This
is good news indeed. All of us have defects in our
characters, and in our own strength there is nothing
that we can do about these defects. No matter how hard
we try, we cannot change our characters, nor can we make
ourselves more hopeful, or more faithful, or more
loving. Yet, according to the sure word of Scripture, we
can come and feast at the gospel table; we can come and
learn about the God of infinite compassion, the God of
the gospel, the God who now holds out to every one of us
a hope that is absolute, a hope that is so exciting and
so inspiring that it fills all who understand it with
faith and love.
The Gospel That
Motivates
On the authority of Scripture we have been told that the
gospel is the source of hope, faith and
love. We do need to realize, however, that here we are
not merely speaking of a fleeting hope, or an academic
faith, or a passive love. According to Scripture, the
gospel instills in us a hope that endures, a faith that
works, and a love that expresses itself in active
labors for God and for the good of our fellow man. Paul
brings this fact to light in his first letter to the
Thessalonians. Here he states:
`We
continually 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 1:3)
We deduce, therefore, that the gospel is the source of a hope
that endures, which promotes a faith that works, and which, in
turn, fills us with a love that loves to labor for the glory
of God and for the good of God's creation.
What
good news this is! The need of a sleepy lethargic
church, the need of all of us, therefore, is not
condemnation, or intensive training in hope or faith or love, but a right understanding of the gospel.
When the true gospel is understood, enduring hope will take root,
and practical faith and active love will be the fruit.
The Gospel Test
In
his letter to the Galatian believers, Paul was
astonished that they should so soon turn from the true
gospel and embrace a `different gospel,' one which,
according to him, was no gospel at all. Clearly there
were a number of `gospels' in those days - just as there
are today. But we do not have to have doubts about the
gospel that we believe in . . .
If
we are not a motivated church, if we are not a people
who are filled with enduring hope, working faith and
active love, then we need to examine the gospel that we
have embraced . . . Is it perhaps a gospel that is no
gospel at all?
Many
writers have published articles that claim to present
the true gospel. In like fashion, this writer feels
inclined to make the claim that the remainder of this
document outlines the true gospel. Together with the
claim, however, I would like to present my reader with
the sure proof. If the gospel presented herein fills you
with hope, faith and love, you will know that it is the
true gospel; if the good news outlined in what follows
inspires you to work, to labor, and to endure in the
interests of God's kingdom, then you will know that this
really is the good news of God's grace - the good news that
speaks of a gracious heavenly Father who poured out His
infinite kindness, in limitless measure, upon a people
who are totally undeserving.
______________
`Your aims are altogether too low. You have not used the great moral faculties of the soul, -
faith, hope, and love. These powers are given us not to lie dormant, but that through their exercise the soul may be brought into harmony with
heaven.' (RH07-22-84.17)
Therefore,
`since we belong to the day, let us be
self-controlled, putting on faith and love as a
breastplate, and the hope of salvation as a helmet.' (1
Thessalonians 5:8)
______________
At this point my reader is invited to consider a
condensed version of the gospel by
clicking here, or you may proceed to the
next chapter. |
