We Are Not Alone

HEART //

As we’ve learned this week, our amazing Father gives us wholeness through adoption as sons and daughters. He calls us to love. In our own strength, loving like Jesus is unreachable, but God, in his perfection, pours love into our hearts and gives us his own Spirit whose love flows out of us (Romans 5:5).

As humans, we cannot live the Christian life any more perfectly than the Israelites could keep the law. Our Father calls us to live a righteous life, but he does not ask us to do it alone. He gives us his Holy Spirit to live through us. 

When we make space in our hearts for less of our self-focus and more of God’s kindness, joy, and peace, we can live the abundant life Christ came to give us (John 10:10). 

When we remove the desire for our best and seek his best, the Spirit can empower us and we experience the strength of God.

As love becomes our way of life, we must constantly be reminded of his strength in us. Christianity is not an addition to our lives, it is a new life to live. When we let go of the world and find our identity as children of God, his Spirit grows the character of Christ in our lives. Ephesians 2:10 explains that we were “created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.” As we continue this walk in the Spirit, let’s begin next week’s journey into compassion with this idea in mind: I am God’s, and there’s work he has for me to do! 

WORK //

Ask God to show you someone to show out-of-the- ordinary kindness toward today. Maybe that looks like eating with someone at lunch who usually eats alone, even though people may laugh. Maybe it looks like playing with a younger sibling that usually gets left out instead of hanging out with your friends. Maybe it looks like doing something kind for a person you have had a hard time with. 

What is the hardest part about living a “righteous” Christian life to you?