Our great desire is that you will keep on loving others as long as life lasts, in order to make certain that what you hope for will come true. (Hebrews 6:11, NLT)
Early in their careers, Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson were geared up for every tournament. I remember back when Tiger was fist pumping at the Greater Milwaukee Open, and now that event is not even on the Tour schedule anymore! Though disappointing to many fans and sponsors, these veteran players seem to get excited only for the majors and maybe a handful of other big events after a while. They may still be disciplined about their practice and exercise, but as the newness wears off so often does the love and passion for most things—even golf at the highest level.
This tendency also happens in the Christian faith. We come with much excitement when we accept the Gospel of Jesus Christ and God’s ability to forgive our sins. We often are baptized and learn of the wonders the Holy Spirit and gain confidence in our position of right-standing with God for eternity. But unfortunately for many Christians, after the newness wears off (if it was ever present to begin with), there is no real spiritual growth.
For many, one’s faith is only a matter of securing a place in heaven for eternity. Then they may begin down a path of thinking they just need to maintain their intellectual belief in Jesus, continue in good moral behavior just in case there is a limit to his forgiveness and grace, and do some charitable works and non-profit giving for spiritual bonus points. Now we’re good, right? Well, maybe.
Good, we are reminded is the enemy of great. If your entire goal for seeking God is to “get saved,” then you’re going to miss out on having the life God desires for you—a life full of love and passion. It would be like a marriage where the entire goal was to get a ring and consummate the marriage, and then just do whatever you have to do to not get a divorce the rest of the way. I’ll admit, consummating the marriage was quite high on my list when Kimberly and I were engaged, but now 10 years into our union, I’m so thankful that there is more depth than that to our relationship. I’d also be in trouble if it were just about the ring, because I lost that some time ago when I took it off to play golf. But I love Kimberly more now than I did walking down the aisle because our relationship has grown as we show each other love daily, not just because we said “I do.”
The author of Hebrews gave us some wisdom well before Saint Valentine or Dr. Ruth began influencing the world on love; he challenged his audience in the fifth and sixth chapters of the book to not grow spiritually dull. He wrote to those that had been believers for a long time that “you ought to be teaching others [by now], instead you are like babies who need milk and cannot eat solid food.” He then said “that someone who lives on milk doesn’t know how to do what is right.” Continuing down this path, he compared this type of person to a farmer’s field that is full of thorns and thistles and not bearing fruit; the farmer needs to condemn the field and burn it because it is useless!
On the other hand, as he wrote in today’s verse, his greatest desire for us as believers was that we would never stop growing in our love for others, so that what we hope for will come true. “Then you will not become spiritually dull and indifferent. Instead, you will follow the example of those who are going to inherit God’s promises because of their faith and endurance” (Hebrews 6:12).
God so much wants for you not to simply settle for the basics, but to pursue a mature and growing faith, and that type of faith focuses on spiritual growth evidenced by our love for others.
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Josh Nelson
February 18, 2014
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The Links Daily Devotional appears Monday-Friday at www.linksplayers.com.