For God So Loved The World预览

“God has not called me to be successful,” said Mother Teresa. “He has called me to be faithful.” What a relief! Accepting the love of God is a difficult enough challenge for most believers but being “successful” in showing His love to others can feel downright impossible. When we change our objective from success to faithfulness, we can start to see how a more loving lifestyle could be possible.

The outcome of any relational interaction is not our responsibility; only our words and our actions are our responsibility. Our duty is to walk in step with the truth of the Gospel that says that every human being is valuable, and that God so loved the world that He gave His Only Son to redeem it.

As we are transformed into the likeness of Jesus, we will more naturally treat people as He treated people: with dignity, compassion, and love. And we will also begin to care less about how we may be treated in return (although we can see in the crowds of people that flocked to Jesus just how much people appreciate being treated the way He treated them).

Since we are not perfect beings, our motivations will likewise never be perfect. We can act as if we are serving others, while still paying the most attention to how we are feeling, or how the person is responding to our service. This is the success/faithfulness tension. We should strive to be like Jesus, but we will never be Jesus. Your most selfless and altruistic act will still be tainted by sin (sorry!) but that doesn’t make your act any less appropriate.

The discipline of serving others for their good, to gain the satisfaction of God, is both a response to the work of Christ in your life, and a further development of the Christlike spirit. It will become easier and more fulfilling as you establish the pattern and habits of “faithful” love.

Today, ask God to reorient your gaze toward Him, away from yourself and even away from others. As you model His love in actions toward other people, rest in the comfort of His satisfaction.