“I Will Build My Life Upon Your Love; It Is A Firm Foundation
Scripture references: Romans 5:8, James 1:2, James 1:26-27, Deuteronomy 10:18, Psalm 68:5, Isaiah 1:17, Zechariah 7:10, Hebrews 13:8, Ruth 4:18-22.
Introduction:
“I will build my life upon your love; it is a firm foundation.”
This lyric is from a song that we will be singing as a community in worship this Sunday called: ‘Build My Life.’
What does it mean to ‘build our lives upon His love’? Was the love of Christ just a mere feeling or words? Or was it more than that?
Devotional:
“but God shows His love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”
-Romans 5:8 ESV
We may know this verse very well, and for good reason. We see that God showed His love for us…not just by a feeling or through words, but through action…and not just any action…but the ultimate action of laying down His life. Taking our sins upon Himself.
What then is our response? How should this understanding of Christ’s love compel us to show love towards others?
As we continue our series in James this week, we will see practical instruction to help us answer this question and put our love into action…
“But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.” -James 1:22
Is it enough to sit in our pews and hear a good sermon?
Is it enough to listen to our audio Bible, Christian radio, or Bible podcast as we go about our day?
These are wonderful practices that can increase our knowledge and understanding of God’s Word and should never be neglected…but if it stops just at ‘hearing’ and never turns into ‘doing’…God’s Word tells us we are deceiving ourselves.
“If anyone thinks he is religious and does not bridle his tongue but deceives his heart, this person’s religion is worthless. Religion that is pure and undefiled before God the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world.”
-James 1:26-27
James understood what Jesus’ love looked like…it was hearing, and then acting. It was seeing people who are pushed to the margins and meeting their needs.
“He executes justice for the fatherless and the widow, and loves the sojourner, giving him food and clothing.” -Deuteronomy 10:18
“Father of the fatherless and protector of widows is God in his holy habitation.” -Psalm 68:5
“Learn to do good; seek justice, correct oppression; bring justice to the fatherless, plead the widow’s cause.” -Isaiah 1:17
“Do not oppress the widow, the fatherless, the sojourner, or the poor, and let none of you devise evil against another in your heart.” -Zechariah 7:10
Do we see a pattern here?
From the Law to the Psalms, to the Prophets and to James…from Old Testament to New Testament…the message is the same!
What did we sing last Sunday?
“Thou changest not, thy compassions they fail not” (Great is Thy Faithfulness)
What verse did we hear Pastor Chuck quote?
“Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.” -Hebrews 13:8
His Word is consistent. He never changes.
The same God who shows compassion to the marginalized of society…the sojourner, the orphan and the widow…commands us to do the same.
By the way…this was Ruth…
Ruth was a widow and a sojourner. She was also childless. On three counts she was an outsider who would have been pushed to the margins. Not just a sojourner, but she was a Moabite alien. Israelites had a particularly negative view of the Moabites at that time.
But what do we see in the story of Ruth? We see a righteous man named Boaz show compassion towards Ruth…furthermore, he fulfills his role as kinsman redeemer and takes Ruth to be his wife…to care for her.
We know from Ruth 4:18-22, that from the line of Boaz and Ruth will come David…from whose line will come Jesus. The ultimate redeemer!
Deep in the heart of the genealogy of Jesus is this story of love, compassion and redemption of a widow and sojourner who is marginalized by society. (another example of why Biblical genealogies are not boring!)
Conclusion:
Back to our opening question…How do we build our life upon His love?
By not only becoming hearers of the Word, but doers of the Word.
By seeing those who are pushed to the margins of society and meeting their needs.
I think of our Jamaica team as they depart…who will not only be bringing the Word for people to hear but bringing God’s love for people to see…by meeting the needs of those who are hurting.
Let’s pray for our Jamaica team as they go out, and let’s focus on putting love into action as we sing this song on Sunday…
“I will build my life upon your love; it is a firm foundation.”
Sean Wagner