VERBATIM OR ACTION??

Verbatim or action?

Verse for Today: Friday, December 30, 2011

Matthew 26:56 – Then all the disciples left Him and fled.

True loyalty and love stand the test of danger. If we love someone truly, we would be willing to take risk to be with that person. If we say that we love and trust someone, it would be proved even when that person is taken captive or made to stand trial even when innocent. Loyalty comes from the bottom of our hearts as we declare our allegiance to those whom we love deeply. Abraham showed loyalty and love to his nephew Lot and his family and was willing to bargain with God for their lives. Jonathan declared his loyalty to David, but when David was in the wilderness, Jonathan was in the palace. Many loyalists of David deserted him when Absalom drove him out of Jerusalem. When Paul stood trial in Rome, none of the believers stood with him. Many even used gospel to increase the sufferings of Paul while he was in the prison. The people who enjoyed the benefits of Jesus’ public ministry shouted out asking for His crucifixion. They demanded that Barabbas be released and Jesus be crucified. But the disciples of Jesus were those who had deep love for Jesus that they left everything to follow Him. One of them even declared that he was willing to die for Him. But they witnessed one among them selling their Lord for thirty pieces of silver. When the hour came for the Lord to be arrested, all of His beloved disciples ran away from Him because they were afraid for their own lives. Within a few hours, Peter publicly denounced Him three times. But even when all of them deserted Him, the Lord was with them in His presence. He kept them all safe during those dangerous days. All through history we see that even when we desert Him or refuse to prove our loyalty to Him, our Lord still goes with us. He wants to bring us back to true loyalty and love in action for Him.

Dear friend, does your loyalty to Jesus vanish when you are fearful of your likely losses because of your faith. When you consider your sustainability more important than your love for the Lord, are you easily tempted to sell Him like Esau who sold his birthright for a few spoonful of stew? We prove or disprove our love and loyalty to our Lord when we wrongly obtain lucrative job offers, economically covetable relationships, profitable business partnerships, attractive positions in the society or church and other benefits when these stand on our way to serving His interests. When we serve our interests and that of the world for some benefits which stand diametrically opposed to the principles and commandments in the Bible, we prove that we do not have any loyalty to the Lord. We are in essence telling the world that we do not believe any more in the power of the Lord to supply our needs and to protect us from danger. We often put our safety or gain before that of our relationship with the Lord. But we cause pain to His heart when we denounce Him through our actions, thoughts and schemes. His love to us demonstrated on the cross of Calvary demands that we prove our loyalty and love to Him through our desires, likes, dislikes, priorities, plans and programs. He knows our motives behind each of our choices and actions and His heart aches for us when we desert Him for temporary gains. Perhaps we run away from Him out of discouragement because of the dangerous situation that we are in. But our Lord has promised that He will be with us in and through all our physical or emotional desert, rain, sun, snow, hurricane, flood and earthquake. His loyalty to us is permanent and His compassion will never depart from us. Just as David forgave Shimei, our Lord forgives us of our confessed disloyalty. Today He wants us to repent of our disloyalty and the forsaking of our first love to Him. He desires that we renew our love to Him just as Peter did when he returned from his backsliding to live for Him and His interests alone.

John 21:17 – The third time (Jesus) said to (Peter), “Simon son of John, do you love Me?” Peter was hurt because Jesus asked him the third time, “Do you love Me?” He said, “Lord, You know all things; You know that I love You.”

Thought for Today

Loyalty and love to the Lord remain as verbatim until it is proved through corresponding action.

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