Belief, and behaviour!

When I was teaching, I often pointed out to my pupils that what we believe effects how we behave, and that how we behave displays what we believe.  

The previous two posts have tried to deal with a very difficult, but important, concept - that the Cross of Jesus is not just an event in time, but that it was birthed in the very hearty of Almighty God from before the creation of the universe.  I realise that, for many, those posts may have been a little too 'academic', but we now move on to matters that are very practical!

The question that arises from the previous posts is simply this: If, as the written Word of God, the Bible, teaches, the Cross is something that lay upon God's heart in eternity (timelessness, not endless time - see my book Great Words of the Faith), what are the practical implications of that upon the daily lives of those who claim to be disciples of the Christ?

So often, we tend to separate our belief from our behaviour.  The truth that we hold in our heads is not allowed to penetrate our hearts.  Is the truth of the Cross - lying on God's heart in eternity - merely something to intrigue our minds; or did He intend it to be a motivation for our daily living?  I firmly believe that "All scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, ..." (II Tim 3:16), and that, although Paul was referring there, only to the scriptures of the Old Testament, the words apply equally to the writings of the New Testament.  I further believe that those words are to be an inspiration to us in our daily lives.  So how does this amazing truth about the Cross fit in with that?

May I suggest that it does so by revealing to us what is at the heart of the universe? You see, what determines our view of the universe will, ultimately, determine our lives, and our living!  What is at the heart of our understanding of the universe will be at the heart of our conduct.  Belief  D Behaviour!

What lies at the heart of your universe?  What effects your behaviour?   Is it justice; or power; or personal pleasure?   For the disciple of Jesus, it is love - self-giving, sacrificial love.  It is the love that held Jesus to that Cross - love for you; love for me.  

Let us live our lives in the light of that love - and see the difference that we will make in the world!