"The only thing that matters is faith expressing itself through love." Gal. 5:6
This has been my favorite verse for many, many years. I feel, at times, overwhelmed by all the richness of the Bible. There is so much good stuff in it, so much truth, applicable to all of my life. Every day I find God's words seemingly spoken directly to me. But this verse has always felt like my center. It brings all those other truths together and wraps them up in me. There are times that I wonder what I should be doing from day to day, how I should be living out my faith. This verse tells me. There are times that I wonder what God's will is for my life, what his purposes are for me this very moment. This verse tells me. There are times that I can't make sense of what's going on in and around me, confused by injustice and pain. This verse directs me. For me, if I could have only one verse from Scripture to keep for the rest of my days, this is the verse I would choose. When I read it, it feels like home.
I think I connect so much with this verse because of the images that come to mind when I read it. I think of my family, my grandma Martha in particular, when I read this verse. She has modeled this verse to me my whole life. When I think of her I think of her faith and her love. And I want to be just like that. I want my life to be about my faith and my love - imperfect, incomplete, but with the purest of motives, the most genuine heart.
I think of Christ, of course, and the way each interaction he had on earth was filled with love. He spoke lovingly, he touched lovingly, he laughed lovingly, he wept lovingly and he even died lovingly. Every movement, every breath, including his last, came from a place of love. His faith in mankind is hard to believe at times and yet he not only believed in us, he loved us.
Today is Good Friday. A day to remember Christ's love for us, his faith that what he was about to do and sacrifice would be worth it, for us. Lord, may you remind me today that the only thing that matters is your love.
Absolutely beautiful.
And from an outside perspective, I can attest that you truly do seem to live your life with the purest of motives and the most genuine heart. You're one of the best definitions I know of faith expressing itself through love.
Oh Mandi, thank you. That's the greatest compliment I could ever receive.