Memorize: And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of these is charity: 1 Corinthians 13:13.
Devotional Reading: 2 Corinthians 6:1-18
We have been looking at Christian Character for the past three days, on Monday we looked at how to pursue Christian Character, on Tuesday, we looked at four of the attributes of Christian Character, yesterday we looked at three of the attributes; we are concluding the series today by looking at Charity or Love as the last attribute. I have explained to us that our character is significantly important in our relationship with God and man. Everything that we receive from God and man is a function of our character. Love is a major attribute of this Christian Character, as a matter of fact, Apostle Paul explained in 1 Corinthians 13:13; that Love is the greatest.
Charity is Love, when someone is charitable, it means the person is generous or a giver. Love is equated with giving, either your money, time, skill, talent, knowledge, etc…
John 3:16 says – “For God so love the world that He gave His only begotten son”; …
Proverbs 19:17; “He that hath pity upon the poor lendeth unto the LORD; and that which he hath given will he pay him again.
There are many today who have faith, they also have hope, but when it comes to giving, they step back, some of these people find it difficult to share their resources with the needy and less privilege, even when there are needs in the house of God, you will not find them forth coming. The truth is that such people are missing out greatly on the blessings of God. There are some blessings that are released to those that have Faith, there are also some blessings that are released to those that have hope, but the blessings that is released to those that have Charity cannot be compared to the blessings released on Faith and Hope, Charity which is Love, is the greatest attribute of Christian Character and it attract the greatest blessings. To fully enjoy the blessings that comes with Charity, we must give cheerfully. 2 Corinthians 9:7; “Every man according as he purposeth in his heart, so let him give; not grudgingly, or of necessity: for God loveth a cheerful giver.
We should never feel obliged to be charitable – we should want to be and do it freely and cheerfully. After all, Jesus was incredibly charitable to us, and he commands us to do the same to one another. John 15:12-14; “This is my commandment, that ye love one another, as I have loved you. Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. Ye are my friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you.
If you want to be a friend of God and you want to be close to Jesus, then you must be charitable by showing love. It is a tested and proven way of gaining quick access into the heart of God, after you have given your life to Christ and have become a new creature, a Christian Character is the ladder to your greatness in life and ministry.
Apostle Peter concluded on his teaching in relation to this subject by saying, if we keep all these attributes of Christian Character in us and we do them, we shall neither be barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ, we must remember that knowledge is power.
2 Peter 1:8-10; “For if these things be in you, and abound, they make you that ye shall neither be barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. But he that lacketh these things is blind, and cannot see afar off, and hath forgotten that he was purged from his old sins. Wherefore the rather, brethren, give diligence to make your calling and election sure: for if ye do these things, ye shall never fail.”
I pray that you will never fail in life and ministry in the name of Jesus. God will give you the grace to live by good example through your Christian Character and be a light unto our dark world in Jesus name.
Prayer point: O LORD, please help me not to fail in life and give me the grace to be light in our dark world in Jesus name.
Key Dose: A light cannot be hidden in darkness, let your life be a shining light to the nation where you are and to the people of our world.
Pastor James Ademuyiwa
Senior Pastor
In His Presence Christ Tabernacle
