Lord, I know that You have given me the measure of faith that I need; but please help me to find that faith within myself, so that You might be glorified in my life.
Son, what do you suppose is the “ultimate act of faith”?
I’m not sure Lord; I guess things like healing the sick, raising the dead or walking on water seem to be the ones that are held in the highest regard.
Not many men have been a party to such things.
No, I’m sure that they haven’t; I guess that’s why they’re held in such esteem.
The ultimate act of faith is also incredibly rare.
What is it Lord?
“The ultimate act of faith is to love with abandon.”
What exactly does it mean to “love with abandon”?
It means to be so given over to love that you do not protect yourself; to love those who will not love you back; to bless those who are taking advantage of you; to forgive those who have hurt you; to love without the expectation of receiving anything in return.
Wow Lord, that answer is somehow unexpected; I guess I never made that kind of connection between faith and love.
Faith, hope and love are three chords woven together into a strand. The way to love without protecting yourself is to rely on Me to guard your heart. The way to love those who will not love you back is to see them through My eyes and to rely on Me for your fulfillment. The way to bless those who take advantage of you is to view Me as your source and as your vindicator. The way to forgive those who’ve hurt you is to recognize how you’ve been forgiven through Me; and the way to love without an expectation of return is to trust that I will work all things to the good of those who love Me and who are called to My purposes.
I see Your point, but love and forgiveness seem like ordinary, everyday occurrences; while things like walking on water or raising the dead defy the laws of nature and are incredibly rare.
Believe me son, unselfish love and genuine forgiveness are far more rare than you could fathom; and for a man to “love with abandon”, he must defy his own nature, which is a far more difficult thing. It requires far less of an investment of faith to raise the dead than it does to look into the eyes of someone who has hurt you and to release them from that debt; and it takes less faith to walk on water than it does to walk beside someone and keep no record of wrongdoing. You may never walk on water, but if you love with all of your heart, mind, soul and strength, all of the law will be fulfilled; on the other hand, you could have the faith to move mountains, but if you have not love, you have nothing. Faith is not simply believing in the impossible, it is believing that through Me, all things are possible.
I want to love and believe like that Lord.
Trust Me Son, it’s your destiny.
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