Bible Reading: 1 Corinthians 13: 1-3<
If I gave everything I have to the poor and even sacrificed my body, I could boast about it; but if I didn’t love others, I would be of no value whatsoever 1 Corinthians 13:3
TRY THIS “Christianity Reality Check” to diagnose your health as a Christian. First, check the statements you think are essential to your Christian belief system.
_____ God created the heavens and the earth.
_____ Jesus Christ is the Son of God, who died on the cross as the sacrifice for our sins and rose from the dead.
_____ The Bible is the Word of God.
_____King James Bibles with black covers are more inspired than others.
If you checked the first three, your belief system is probably intact. Now let’s look at actions. Check the statements you think a Christian must do regularly.
_____ A Christian should read the Bible, pray, and attend church.
_____ A Christian should share his or her faith with others.
_____ A Christian should obey the Bible and avoid sinful activities.
_____ A Christian should wear a long scratchy robe and chant in Latin.
Okay. Once again, if you checked the top three statements you have a good idea of some positive behaviors that can help you grow as a Christian.
Here’s the problem. A lot of Christians stop there. They say, “Hey, I believe right and I behave right-most of the time. So I have the Christian life mastered. When I reach heaven, I’ll get my solid gold crown for being a model believer.”
Nice try. Unfortunately, God doesn’t agree with you. Believing the right things is important. But it’s not enough. Behaving in the right way is also important. But it’s not enough. You still might be missing one vital element -and it just happens to be at the top of God’s list.
It’s called loving right. According to 1 Corinthians 13: 1-3, all your right believing and right behaving is worthless if it’s not accompanied by right loving. It matters just as much to God how you manage to get along with people as it does how you master doctrine and rules.
REFLECT: Have you ever focused more on believing and behaving right than on loving right? What did or could happen if you made that mistake?
PRAY: Lord, I want to believe right and behave right. But help me love right too.
