It Starts Small

For many Christians, the love of God is spoken in past tense. They saw the love of God in the cross, became born-again, but live tip-toing around God. John tells us we can have confidence around God. When the topic of the day of judgement is brought up many become uneasy. As Christians, our day of judgement is not about life and death. Our eternity is not hanging in the balance.

Jesus explained this in John.

“Truly I tell you, anyone who hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not come under judgment but has passed from death to life.

John 5:24

Instead, our day will be an assessment of our lives.

¹² If anyone builds on the foundation with gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay, or straw, ¹³ each one’s work will become obvious. For the day will disclose it, because it will be revealed by fire; the fire will test the quality of each one’s work. ¹⁴ If anyone’s work that he has built survives, he will receive a reward. ¹⁵ If anyone’s work is burned up, he will experience loss, but he himself will be saved—but only as through fire.

1 Corinthians 3:12-15

¹⁰ For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each may be repaid for what he has done in the body, whether good or evil.

2 Corinthians 5:10

Did we live for eternity or temporal?
Did we live for God or self?

John says, when God’s love is perfected in us, we will have confidence before God that even on the day of judgement, it will not be feared. How do we obtain such confidence? John continues with as He is, also we are in the world. Part of God’s perfecting of us is that we begin to love like Jesus. God’s love in us, changes us.

Think about someone who consumes the perfect balanced diet with no sugars. They exercise and sleep the perfect amount. We can imagine they are very fit individuals. What they consumed is what they appear to be and affects the way they look.

If we consume God’s love, we start to look like Jesus and have confidence before the Lord. We are not actually like Jesus all the time, but God’s Word teaches us we have the same position before the Father as Jesus does.

⁴ But God, who is rich in mercy, because of his great love that he had for us, ⁵ made us alive with Christ even though we were dead in trespasses. You are saved by grace! ⁶ He also raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavens in Christ Jesus,

Ephesians 2:4-6

Knowing who we are – seated with Christ – gives us confidence. In Christ our seat is secured.

Ponder: what are you consuming in your spirit and heart? There is a silly saying, what you eat is what you are. What are you filling your spiritual appetite with? Is it God’s love or temporal things?

---