Michael Youssef, Ph D.  May 08, 2020

As we pursue God, we discover a difficult Truth: Living out the principles in the Bible is not as easy as we may think. Loving God and loving our neighbor sound like simple enough commands, but when it actually comes to showing love to a difficult neighbor, our true colors begin to show. We must ask ourselves if we truly love God as much as we say we do.

Throughout the New Testament, Jesus revolted against the notion that being religious meant you loved God. The piety of the Pharisees was a mockery of what it meant truly to follow God—and Jesus went to extremes to prove this. In explaining this fact, Jesus said, “. . . a tree is recognized by its fruit. . . . the mouth speaks what the heart is full of” (Matthew 12:33-34).

Regardless of our best intentions, sometimes our actions don’t align with our words, and our inaction keeps us from bearing fruit. While we know we should follow God and trust Him in every situation, we can succumb to worry and anxiety. Instead of placing our faith in Him, we panic and try to solve the situation ourselves.

While God has patience for an eternity, He does not want us to remain broken down along the roadside while we try to repair our faith. His desire for us is that we would be ever nearing a place of greater faith and unity with Him. But that process is delayed when our actions are not aligned with God’s Word.

As people committed to following God, we must learn that believing means taking action. It means that we take God’s Word for what it truly is: His Word. The Bible is the foundation of what we believe, and we must strive to live accordingly.

Prayer: Lord, help me to live out Your Word today in everything I do. Help me to love with my actions, not just my words. I pray in the name of Jesus. Amen.

“And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him” (Hebrews 11:6).