Friday 3 March, 2017

11 Now may a way be opened up for us to come to you. May our God and Father himself and our Lord Jesus do this. 12 May the Lord make your love grow. May it be like a rising flood. May your love for one another increase. May it also increase for everyone else. May it be just like our love for you. 13 May the Lord give you strength in your hearts. Then you will be holy and without blame in the sight of our God and Father. May that be true when our Lord Jesus comes with all his holy ones.

Jesus is coming back. It’s a sure thing. But how do I get ready for that? What do I do to be able to stand before God our Father with a “strong heart, blameless and holy”? v13

I read these verses in the New Living Translation and verse 13 starts off with these words…

“May He, as a result…”      As a result of what?

I wonder if Paul is sharing a wonderful key, a clue as to how to stand before God well one day. The clue is in the preceding verse. It’s as if Paul is saying to the church “I’m praying that God will make your love overflow for everyone. That’s how you’ll stay strong hearted and blameless and holy when you stand before God when Jesus comes again.” It’s a love that has it’s origin in God, it’s given to us by God through Jesus, it will help me stand before God one day and in the mean time it benefits everyone around me.

O God my Father, may You fill me anew with this love for others today! Amen

Written by Boudy van Noppen