Holy Spirit

Thursday, July 23, 2015

FAITH WORKS BY LOVE



The mood at The SCOAN during the Sunday service of May 3, 2015 was ecstatic with demonstrations of how God’s people can be passionate in praise and thanksgiving for all the love their Father in heaven has been showering on them all the while. From the countenances of the visibly excited and elated congregants to the lyrical depth of the chorister’s deliveries, it was very obvious that they had come because of their love for the presence of God at The SCOAN as the Emmanuel Singers would put it in UNDER HIS EYES: “… HE watches over us day and night. We are not alone”.
PTBJIn furtherance of the biblical concept of love and its applicability to the Christian life, the man of God, Prophet T.B. Joshua, spoke philosophically about the subject and made fundamental allusions to the Bible in which love is described as the greatest. The same love that inspired Christ to lay down His life for mankind is the most universal price Christians have to pay to enter the kingdom of God: “Faith cannot work alone. Faith works by love. Without love, faith is faithless. This is the challenge we have in Christendom – we have faith but no love. That makes us live in a faithless generation. If there is love, the church will be one – but the church is not one. If there is love, there will be unity”.

According to the man of God, the totality of a Christian’s life is measured in terms of the love he extends to God and the people around, especially his neighbours and even those who hurt him/her: “A true Christian is measured by how much he loves God and his neighbour. God measures our life by our love for Him. Faith without love is faithless. Hope without love is hopeless. In 1 Corinthians 13:13, there are three things that will last forever – faith, hope and love. Among them, the greatest is love”.

At a time when the whole world is being strangulated by hate and bitterness, Prophet T.B. Joshua re-echoed the Christian standard of loving one another, irrespective of colour, race or religion. The man of God drew the attention of the congregation to the need to place our love for God above all other considerations: “Your belief in God is calculated by how much love you have for God and your neighbour. God is love. He who abides in love abides in God and God in him. It is not enough to believe in the unity of God but you must love Him above all things. I believe Jesus – it is not enough to believe in the unity of God. You must love God above all things. We must love one another, irrespective of religion or faith”.

In his conclusion, Prophet T.B. Joshua once again reminded Christians of the inevitability of trials and tribulations even in the face of all the love they show to the world. But he/she who continue to place God’s love above all things will never relent in showing love even to those who do not value it. Tribulations will continue to come because life is not meant to be sweet all through: “As you go, there is going to be difficult times. If anyone says life will be sweet throughout, it is not true. The Bible says in this world there will be tribulation but cheer up – I have overcome. Life is all about good times and hard times. If you are not from God, hard times will reveal you. If you are from God, those hard times will strengthen your desire and make you stronger and stronger. Your life is measured by your love for God”.

No comments:

Post a Comment

Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.

Benny Hinn

Kathryn Kulhman