FAITH CAPSULE: With the fear of God dwelling in us, God is faithful to establish as a candidate to inherit eternal life.

1 John 4

To fear God is to love God. Claiming to love God also comes down to obeying His commandments. Apostle Paul pointed out that the purpose of God’s commandment is to love God. He stated, “Now the purpose of the commandment is love from a pure heart, from a good conscience, and from sincere faith, from which some, having strayed, have turned aside to idle talk.” (1Timothy 1:5-6) Paul was talking about love that counts before God, the kind of love that is worthy to provoke God’s attention to acknowledge one for good.
What shall I do to inherit eternal life?
Living a righteous life is a command from the word of God. Jesus was speaking, “For I say to you, that unless your righteousness exceeds the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven.” (Matthew 5:20) It is clear in the documentation of the bible that the scribes and Pharisees are well versed in the word but not living life according to God’s word. The love of God is what qualifies man to be considered as one that engages righteousness. 1John 3:10, “Whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is he who does not love his brother.” It is impossible for anyone that does not love his brother that he can see to claim to love a God that he/she has never met. The word of God encourages us to truly love in every aspect of our lives because love is truly of God. 1 John 4:8 declares it, “He who does not love does not know God, for God is Love.” It is the will of God for us to fear because His fear in us places us to love Him.
The fear of God, the love of God is only way of obeying all of His commandments. That fear is the conclusion of all that matters in life. It is perfectly certain that with the fear of God dwelling in us, God is faithful to establish us as one that is set to inherit eternal life. The Good Samaritan is a measure of the gift we should be giving back to God who gave us the best gift in His begotten Son. Loving our neighbor as demonstrated by the Good Samaritan is what to do to inherit eternal life. A yearly glamorous celebration of the gift of God to us is far from enough as a measure of what to do to inherit eternal life. Loving our neighbor perfects loving God. Celebrate Jesus, the gift of God, by giving yourself to living life in having compassion for all your neighbors.

Prayer for today: Personalize the prayer which the Apostle Paul prayed in 2Thessalonians 3:5, ‘Now may the Lord direct your hearts into the love of God and into the presence of Christ.