June 23, 2016 - "Are You Willing To Live For God?"

Chaplain’s Corner

June 23, 2016

Are You Willing to Live For God?

Good Morning Patriots!

I hear an expression a lot. People are talking about their loyalty to someone, or a group, or to God. They say that they would be willing to die for that person, group, or God. It is meant to impress the depth of their commitment. I am not finding fault with using that expression, but I think it would be in order to talk about it a little bit, and see if it really does describe your feelings and level of commitment.

The Bible, at John 15: 13 says, "Greater love has no man than this, that he lay down his life for his friends." - NIV

Here, we see that being willing to die for someone else is the ultimate act of love. There is no greater love than that. To feel this way, genuinely, of someone and/or God is a wonderful thing, and I can only hope and pray that you never find yourself in a situation where you have to prove that love by sacrificing your own life. But for the sake of this discussion, let us talk about that kind of love.

Do you love God? Are you a committed Christian? Have you decided to pick up your Cross and follow Jesus, knowing that He said that if they persecuted Him, they would persecute you, also? Have you had to suffer for Christ? Lost a job, lost a promotion, lost a relationship, lost family or friends? In the face of that kind of struggle, it can be strengthening to know that we are suffering for Christ; and our steadfast loyalty to Him, even to death, is a beautiful thing to our Lord, and will be rewarded. So the question I have at this point is this: Do you love God enough to die for Him? Having asked you that question, the logical next question is this: Do you love God enough to LIVE for Him?

It's amazing how we, as imperfect people, can be so inconsistent in our nature. We seem to relish the idea of being ready to die for our faith, and we take pride and comfort in saying so. However, what if God is not asking you to die for Him? What if He simply wants obedience? By obedience, am I talking about following a prescribed set of rules? No. When Jesus was asked about salvation and how it could be attained, and what the greatest commandments were, his answer was simple and to the point:

"Jesus replied, 'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: Love your neighbor as yourself. All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments." Matthew 22: 37 - 40 NIV

So, rather than trying to follow a preset bunch of rules and laws, we are told that if we do just TWO things right, then we will fulfill all of the requirements set out in the Old Testament for pleasing God, and thus being obedient to Him. If we can love God totally, unequivocally, and without reservation, and if we can love and treat our fellow man as we do our own selves, then we do not need a written set of rules and laws to live by. If we love our fellow man as ourselves, we do not need a law that tells us not to murder, steal from, or lie about, our fellow man. We would naturally do them no harm, and even do good toward them simply out of love.

We would not need rules from God about keeping the marriage bed without defilement. We would not need rules about not coveting someone else's possessions. We would not need rules about not lying or bearing false testimony when we know that the wicked one is "the father of the lie." We would want to be pure and chaste and loving and kind in everything we do. Though we are imperfect in this flesh, we would do everything possible to overcome the desires of the flesh and rest in God's grace. We would gladly and happily accept Jesus' ransom sacrifice as payment for our sin debt, and ask God to come into our hearts and dwell inside us and make us New Creations in Christ. We would happily surrender our own will to the will of God, and be daily asking Him to lead us in the Holy Spirit. We would not be making excuses for our fallen flesh, but, rather, working diligently daily to overcome it, and not let our fallen flesh be our master.

We would not be making excuses or rationalizing our bad or dirty habits. We would not be standing up trying to impose our will on others, nor would we try to judge others or their walk with God. We would love our fellow man enough to be willing to share the good news of salvation with someone who is hurting and lost and looking for answers in this dark world. We would do more than say, "Go, be warm and well fed" when we see a fellow man hungry and without food or shelter. We would be proactive in seeking to be as much like Jesus as we can. We would stick out like a sore thumb in this wicked world because we are "different" and we do not blend in. People would see us and our demeanor and KNOW that there is just something... different. Not in a bad way, but in a good and Godly way. The way we dress. The way we talk. The way we carry ourselves. The way we interact with strangers or friends. The life we live would be so obviously different from the standard fare in the world today. Our humility would outshine any false sense of righteousness.

We would stand on simple moral truth. We would not seek to impose our morals on others, but we also would not be willing to bend on moral principles, even if it is deemed "necessary" to "keep the peace." We would be willing to take a loss financially or materially, rather than go against our Christian conscience before God. We also know that there is freedom in Christ, but we would not insist on our freedoms to do things that we know may stumble a new fellow Christian. We would be willing to set our own "rights" aside to make it easier for a new Christian to grow in the faith, and grow to maturity. All of these things are based on true love of God and love of our fellow man. All of these things are wrapped up in how we live our everyday lives. So, for some, it may be even harder to live a life of self-denial and servitude to our God and our fellow man than it would be to just "go out in a blaze of glory." So, when it comes to showing what we are made of, and our love and commitment to God and our fellow man, the question is not: "Would you die for them?" The real question is: "Would you live for them?" Are you willing to make changes in your life to accommodate a real, daily, faith-based existence that brings glory and praise to our Father? Are you willing to live your life in denial of the carnal so as to prepare yourself for the spiritual?

These are some things that I was thinking about today, and wanted to share these thoughts with you. I pray that something I have said here strikes a chord with you, and may bring you some peace and/or comfort. Just know this: if you are having troubles in your life, that is not always a bad thing. Ask yourself why these things are happening, and what the answer is. If you are suffering for the Lord, then the answer is MORE of the Lord! If you are suffering but do not know the Lord, then the answer IS the Lord! If you are not having any problems or issues in this life, then ask yourself if it may be because you have taken a stand... on the wrong side? Sometimes the wicked one will bless your efforts to achieve carnal things in life, just to keep your attention off of the spiritual things. Something to think about...

God Bless you, every one, and:
God Bless America!
Stephen King
Chaplain@3upi.com