Faith, Love, Fellowship, and Obedience

For quite some time now, the Lord has placed upon my heart the daunting and unpopular task of defining for me (and communicating with others) the communal relationship that exists between faith, love, fellowship, and obedience. My personal belief is that faith, love, fellowship, and obedience are both keys and evidence of a believer learning to truly abide and live in one accord with the God of all creation; the result of which is a true fellowship with God; fellowship that leads to victory in trial, peace in the storm, and joy everlasting. While all of this is truly what many, if not most, people in this world seek, the reality is there is much difficulty and trial accompanying such a disciplined walk. First, let's look at faith. Hebrews 11:1 tells us "faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen." For a believer, the first step of faith is believing—believing that God created the heavens, the earth, and all that is upon, above, and beyond what we see. Faith is believing God created man and created for man certain guidelines in order that he can maintain fellowship with Him. Faith is believing God sent His Son Jesus to make atonement for man, that Jesus shed His blood, and believing the gospel—these things we must first believe. With that belief comes certain benefits and responsibilities; some benefits being, of course, eternal fellowship with God, the infilling of His Holy Spirit to guide us, and the ability to walk in forgiveness for our failings, just to name a few. Faith requires me to stand upon His Word; to recognize it as His inspired instruction to all mankind. As we look at love through the enlightenment of the Holy Spirit, we see the love we could never understand before, unconditional love, and the love of God. This love, at first glance, is a love only He would be capable of: forgiving; compassionate; love void of retribution, anger, and pain and without end. It is a love that chastens us when we go astray, a love that shows us the way to fullness and safety and a love that protects us from the influences of the enemy. When I read the laws associated with the Israelites after leaving captivity, I see that love manifested in amazing ways. These people, who had been in captivity over 400 years, having taken on unhealthy and unholy practices because of the influence and control of their captors, were now set free and given laws of protection. They were given instruction on what foods to avoid, how to handle issues of blood and death, the raising of children now free from bondage, and the maintaining of order for millions of people experiencing freedom for the first time, while facing fear and temptation accompanying this freedom. I believe this is another great example of God's love toward a rebellious people by keeping them safe through guidelines and discipline. Yes, this is love in its greatest form. We must truly understand that those the Lord loves, He chastens, for it is by that chastening or discipline we are protected from things we cannot see or understand. As the result of faith in God and the acceptance of the depth of His love, we now begin to have true abiding fellowship with God. We begin to fathom the reality of who He is; our guilt is slowly cast aside by the power of His grace. Rather than feeling unworthy or undeserving of His love and forgiveness, we have realized that the love and forgiveness cannot be earned. We stop striving for it and realize that though we are not worthy on our own, the blood of Jesus has made us so. We enjoy our time with the Lord, we recognize His presence, and we surrender to His will. No, it's not perfect all of the time, yet the fellowship and intimacy seem to mask the obstacles more every day. Our fellowship becomes a treasure we seek to protect and hold on to, at all cost. Finally, we come to a place of obedience; that place where the desire to please and avoid separation from God creates within us repulsiveness toward sin. No longer do we argue our right to disobey or determine what the rules should be; we simply understand that while we may not understand why, we know Him, and we now trust Him completely. We recognize the cost of disobedience, and the momentary pleasure we receive is far outweighed by the pain of failure and separation from the One we love. We realize our flesh, truly, never will be satisfied; therefore, we feed our spirit and allow our flesh to be denied. What was once a screaming for passion and desire has now become a faint whisper drowned by the pleasure and joy of fellowship and abiding with the Spirit of God. If you ask me what it means to be saved, you have just read my answer. This is when we know we have achieved true fellowship with God. Is true fellowship with God attainable for anyone? Achieving true fellowship with God sounds so easy yet seems so difficult to reach at times. The answer is truly yes; in all cases, yes. The journey, while difficult in the beginning, becomes easier day-by-day as the rewards and blessings grow. Just take it one moment at a time, surrender your agenda, take small bites, and enjoy the time. You will find peace; peace for your soul, and the joy of the Lord will be your strength. Pastor Gene Burroughs, Missio Dei Ministries, Navarre, FL