Life's Greatest Pursuits
Wednesday - October 21st
Scripture to Read Today: Proverbs 21:1-31
Whoever pursues righteousness and love finds life, prosperity and honor.
Proverbs 21:21
At Calvary Community Church, we make much of Jesus. He is the focus of everything we do and say. We want to see others come to Jesus as Savior, learn to walk with Him through all aspects of life, and as they do to pursue a life marked by living and loving like Jesus. We believe the quest to be like Jesus should be the first and most highly valued pursuit of any Christian. That is why we describe ourselves as a church that seeks to live and love like Jesus. No apologies. That is our deepest passion!
Over the last decade, we have used "to live and love like Jesus" as our church family's missional motto. Significantly few people I have met have pushed back on that pursuit. Christians, non-Christians, and even atheists all think it is a worthy goal for anyone.
Even those that reject Jesus as Savior and Lord still value the way he lived and loved. They may interpret Christ and His message in a warped way, but they genuinely commend the concept. For some, He is simply a wise man with pithy life sayings. Others see Him as a social revolutionary who was the original hippie. And yet others see Him as a fiery preacher who rebuked all that He met. While they each embrace a sliver of who Christ was and is, they cannot accept all of the claims He and His followers made about Him.
So, it has been essential for me as the Senior Pastor at Calvary to explain what living and loving like Jesus means biblically. Living like Jesus tells us we live in holiness, righteousness, and truth. To love like Jesus means we live with mercy, compassion, and grace. The Apostle John summarized it well when he said that Jesus was full of grace and truth (John 1:14). As His followers, we pursue that same harmony of grace and truth. It is far too easy to emphasize grace to the detriment of truth or truth to the detriment of grace. Jesus lived in truth and loved in grace one hundred percent of the time. He was the purest form of truth and grace to ever walk in human flesh.
The Book of Proverbs catches the idea of grace and truth when it says in chapter 21 and verse 21, "Whoever pursues righteousness and love finds life, prosperity and honor." "Righteousness and love" equal the "truth and grace" described by John. Notice that pursuing them both is a worthy and rewarding ambition. Real life, genuine prosperity, and authentic honor from the Lord and among other human beings can only be achieved in the pursuit of righteousness and love.
Many of us have love interests, work interests, career goals, hobbies, bucket lists, and dreams. We often pursue those things with complete abandon. But, life gets sweet, meaningful, and fulfilling when we seek what God wants us to seek - righteousness and love.
How about you? Do you get up every day pursuing love interests, career goals, or items on your bucket list more than you seek righteousness and love? If so, you will not experience life from God, personal prosperity, or honor.
Today, seek love and seek to love others like Jesus. Pursue righteousness by walking in obedience to God's Word. As you make these your greatest pursuits, life will not be completely problem-free, but it will be deeply satisfying, fulfilling, and meaningful!
When we seek to live and love like Jesus, we pursue righteousness and love!