Whether we’re well-organized, procrastinators, or determined to live by the seat of our pants, all of us have a plan. That’s what humans do; we plan. Even when we’re not thinking about planning, we’re in effect planning not to do so. Despite what might be our best intentions to be impetuous or impulsive, we’re planning our next move before we make it. Some of us are better at this than others, because many people have their lives completely mapped out. It makes them feel more in control and intentional about life. That’s not necessarily a bad thing, but we all must allow for the reality that life can be pretty unpredictable. God is the One that holds our tomorrows. He knows where we’re supposed to be, when we’re supposed to be there, and He knows how to get us there. He’s the One with the plan, and in Proverbs 19:21(NLT), He schools us on whose really in charge. He tells us, “You can make many plans, but the LORD’s purpose will prevail.”
1John 5:3(NKJV) declares, “For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments. And His commandments are not burdensome.” What commandments are we talking about in this verse? Well, we know that the Book of 1John is part of the New Testament, and that our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, is indeed the New Testament himself. Christ is the living Word of God, and he has ushered in a new covenant between God and all who choose to live by faith in Him through Christ. Our Heavenly Father wanted to share His glory with us, and because of what He has accomplished through the sacrifice and resurrection of His only begotten Son, all humanity has received the awesome privilege and responsibility to live through God’s love.
The commandment to live through God’s love by living through the example of Jesus Christ, to love God with all that we are, and to share this great love with others, these satisfy all God’s requirements. 1Thessalonians 1:4 tells us that God loves us and has chosen us to be His very own people. We are to be imitators of God. We have received the indwelling or infilling of His Holy Spirit, and we are to surrender our whole lives to be controlled by God’s love in Christ. Loving God with all that we are and telling others about the Good News of Jesus Christ are a part of the new covenant He has with us, and we must do all we can to keep and honor this covenant.
God wants us to be built up with His strength from the inside out, because we live from the inside out, not the other way around. In Proverbs 23:19, He tells us to keep our hearts on the right track, and this means that we must have His Word in our hearts. Filling our minds with His Word and our hearts with His love is how we get on board with God’s agenda. If we fail to be anchored in Christ this way, it will seem as though our lives are overwhelmed with the confusion and chaos of many problems. And not only this, we will not have the joy and peace of God that we could and should have.
God’s love should guide our decisions and choices, and as His children, He commands us to build each other up through edification. To edify is to uplift and build up another individual through words of exaltation and adoration from the truth of God’s Word. We cannot be edified by a lie, we are empowered and edified by the truth, and God has given us the glory, privilege, and honor to share the truth with others. This is how we assist our wonderful Lord and Savior, by edifying ourselves and others through his Gospel.
Hebrews 4:14-16(NLT) tells us, “14 So then, since we have a great High Priest who has entered heaven, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to what we believe. 15 This High Priest of ours understands our weaknesses, for he faced all of the same testings we do, yet he did not sin. 16 So let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There we will receive his mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it most.” The feelings, urges, and discomfort of temptations and testing by the devil did not morph into something else or become less for Jesus Christ. Quite the contrary. He faced them all and perhaps at a pace and intensity none of us can imagine, yet he did not sin. He is our Mediator before the throne of God’s grace. Jesus Christ understands us and what we go through on earth, and he will help us in our time of need.
His example is extremely and unfathomably meaningful to us. There is trouble and tribulation with this earthly experience, and attacks and plots against us by demonic influences continue, but Jesus Christ demonstrated for us firsthand that the law of love is powerful beyond belief. He tells us in John 16:33(NLT), “I have told you all this so that you may have peace in me. Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world.” He revealed that life is a series of choices about who we are going to be, and if being like him is our choice, we must seek to impact everyone under the span of our influence through his love. God has provided edifying as a very important way to achieve this.
God is curating a heart of His love in us. Not everyone is going to be at the same level of spiritual maturity as you might be. Heavenly Father has shown us His loving and tender mercy and kindness, and this is the heart we are to have toward others, regardless of where they are in the faith. He has set us apart for His purpose. We can’t believe for one second that living in God and being obedient to His Word would leave us at a disadvantage; that will never happen. When our hearts are to be a blessing to others, we are on the right track, because this is the way God’s love behaves. We have been empowered by God through His Spirit, and it is utter joy to know that we are equipped to edify and continue this mission of love in the earth for God through Jesus Christ. ■
Scripture quotations marked (NLT) are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois 60189. All rights reserved.
“The Joy of Edifying Others”, written for 4theChristianman.com. Copyright© 2022. All rights reserved. All praise and honor to God through Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior.