Today’s Scripture: Galatians 5:6

“In Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision counts for anything, but only faith working through love.”

There’s an inextricable link between faith and love. It’s impossible to please God without faith (Hebrews 11:6) and also impossible to please him without love. This love arises in our hearts only as we, by faith, lay hold of the great truths of the Gospel. To do this, our faith must be constantly nourished by feeding on the Gospel. It’s not the only message we need; we must also hear the requirements of discipleship. But the Gospel is most important because it alone provides both the proper motive and the only enduring motivation to respond to our Lord’s call to discipleship.

John Owen, the prince of Puritan theologians, wrote three masterful treatises on sin. He also wrote a book titled Communion with God in which he made this statement: “The greatest sorrow and burden you can lay on the Father, the greatest unkindness you can do to him, is not to believe that he loves you.” Owen wasn’t soft on sin. In fact, his work on indwelling sin is almost scary as he exposes the nature, power, and deceitfulness of the sin that still resides in us. But Owen was more concerned that we keep before us the Gospel: the love of God revealed in his Son Jesus Christ.

To the degree that we live with an abiding sense of his love for us in Christ, to that degree will we love God with all our heart and soul and mind. So let us not put the Gospel “on the shelf” of our lives. Let us review it daily, and in the joy that it brings, pursue these disciplines.

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