By Pastor William Y. K. Brown Ph.D
(Resident Pastor)
Seventh-day Adventist Church
Osu-Bethel.
Tel: 0244165628/0243310773.
wykbrown@gmail.com
WEDNESDAY
THEME: LOVING FAITH“
SCRIPTURE: Ruth 1:16-17
“[16]But Ruth said: “Entreat me not to leave you, Or to turn back from following after you; For wherever you go, I will go; And wherever you lodge, I will lodge; Your people shall be my people, And your God, my God. [17]Where you die, I will die, And there will I be buried. The Lord do so to me, and more also, If anything but death parts you and me.”
REFLECTIONS
The Scripture says, “God is love” (1 John 4:8). But we require faith to believe and apply this truth about God in our lives. Thus, faith is critical in our experience of God’s love. We cannot love God without faith, and neither can we have faith without love. Faith is the vehicle that conveys love to the individual’s heart. How can we know God’s love if we do not have faith in Him? Faith is a catalyst that enables love to be demonstrable. Faith gives birth to loving deeds. Love is the visible manifestation of faith in God.
Faith makes it possible to carry out the instructions in Deuteronomy 6:5 – “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength.”; and Leviticus 19:18, “. . . you shall love your neighbor as yourself: I am the Lord.” Faith enables greater love for God and fellow human beings. However, God’s love is what makes our faith tenable. Faith survives when love is practiced. Loving faith makes our relationship with God and fellow human beings strong and meaningful.
Ruth’s conviction and statement of love expressed through faith in God is immortalized for our learning. “But Ruth said: “Entreat me not to leave you, Or to turn back from following after you; For wherever you go, I will go; And wherever you lodge, I will lodge; Your people shall be my people, And your God, my God.” Where you die, I will die, And there will I be buried. The Lord do so to me, and more also, If anything but death parts you and me.” – Ruth 1:16-17. One of our greatest needs in this generation is a loving faith.
In the Scriptures, Ruth’s love for Naomi and faith in her God made her the epitome of loving faith. Whenever the story of love and faith working together is shared, Ruth will be mentioned. Her down-to-earth expression of love and faith is remarkable and requires emulation. She did not look at convenience but braced herself up for potential inconveniences to render loving support to Naomi in her period of grief and loneliness. Ruth remembers and appreciates people. Her loving faith was rewarded (Ruth 2:12; 4:13-22) by being part of Jesus’ genealogy (Matthew 1:5). May the Lord help us to demonstrate our faith through loving actions in our families and communities.
MY SONG OF COMMITMENT
SDAH 76 – “O Love That Wilt Not Let Me Go”
LET US PRAY
– Praise and thank God for His love; thank Him for the opportunity to demonstrate loving faith; pray for grace to be a blessing to others;
– Pray for families and individuals in distress within your sphere of influence; pray for humanitarian agencies and their workers, and philanthropists;
– Pray for some lonely people, widows, orphans, single parents, street children, and your neighbors;
– Pray for peace in the country, Christians to demonstrate loving faith, and relief for victims of war and disasters; pray for the proclamation of the Gospel and its spread.
