What’s Faith Got to do With It?

Dear Church,
 
When I was a kid I would do some of the silliest things. Most of the time those things would drive my parents crazy. Times when I got kicked of the bus, or got detention for saying very inappropriate things to a classmate, or using words that I heard in a movie (even if I didn’t know what they meant).
 
There were so many conversations about right and wrong, appropriate and inappropriate, helpful and unhelpful. I got grounded, yelled at, spanked (although probably not enough) and sent to my room. Yet, in all that happened never once did my parents ever question their love for me. Why?
 
First, they loved me because we were connected; we were family. Second, they loved me because they had faith that I was growing, learning and developing. I want to suggest that these are the same reasons why we are supposed to love others, even our enemies. We love them, not because we always feel like it. No, we love them because we are connected to them. Even if they aren’t part of the family of God right now we love them because we have a hope that someday they will be. Our love says, “I’m not giving up hope on your growth!” Our love says, “I believe that what Jesus did in me he can also do in you.”
 
See, loving others isn’t about having feelings of love. It is about having the faith to believe that God’s love in us can impact their lives just like it impacted ours. We don’t love others because they are easy to love. We love them because we believe that the love of Jesus really can change lives.
 
What does your love say about your faith? Do you trust God enough to love those who hate you, or persecute you, or work with you, or live with you, or worship with you? Do you trust God enough to love you? Do you have faith to believe that denying the desires of your flesh and submitting to God’s Holy Spirit really can produce love in you? He will respond to your faith.
 
In Him,
Pastor Tim