One measure of our maturity is whether we can take pleasure in the happiness of others. In other words, a happiness should not have to be our own in order for it to bring us pleasure. We should be able to rejoice with those who rejoice!
Every action impacts the world. Doing good spreads light and positivity, while negative actions contribute to darkness. As interconnected parts of God’s creation, our choices ripple outward, influencing others. Let’s choose goodness and shine as lights.
In Christ, we each have a relationship with Him that is absolutely unique. God would have sent His Son to the cross if you were the only person who needed to be saved, and having saved you, He loves the way you respond to His goodness.
Without the focus that Jesus had on the Father’s glory, our joy tends to degenerate. It becomes the product of indulging our selfish desires, with little or no regard for whether that indulgence helps or hinders the outworking of God’s purposes.
Many questions are irrelevant to our own responsibility. If we know what the Lord would want us to do, then doing it is all that matters. Now is the time for obedience. There will be time enough for questions later.
Even when we’re going someplace exceedingly wonderful, saying goodbye is never easy. So this thing we call growth is a bittersweet blessing. So let’s keep a clear head, say our goodbyes with gratitude, and “go on to perfection.”
For the time being, unfulfilled desires are difficult to deal with, but the emptiness of our hearts right now will only make the dream sweeter when it comes true. And one day, my dear friend, the dream is going to come true!
Going back to the cross is a painful. No sensitive human being can think of the agony of Christ’s crucifixion and not be gut-wrenched, all the more when we realize that our own sins crucified Him. But only so can we be healed of what hurts us.
Faith is not wishful thinking but trust in the unseen, supported by solid evidence. Faith is, as Hebrews 11:1 reminds us, the substance and evidence of things hoped for, making heaven not just a possibility but a reality worth reaching for.
We should put away our predictions and go ahead and do the best we’re capable of doing at the moment. We must be guided by conscience and the knowledge that it always “does good to do good” — whether we can see how it’s going to happen or not.