Faith & Love: A One Year Bible Reading Plan - Part 10Sample

Paul speaks in 1 Timothy about love. Here, he talks about a kind of love that is pure. God is calling us to understand our calling to love and what kind of love it is.

In 1 Timothy 1:5-7, we see how Paul gives two distinct characteristics of the love that will impact our daily lives:

1. A love uncontaminated by self-interest. Paul highlights the idea that not everything people express as love is from a place of purity. The intention of the love that is the driving force of our actions needs to come from a pure heart. It is not the kind of love we will see in the world around us. It is not the kind of love that is driven by what’s in it for me. It is the kind of love that rather asks the question ‘what’s in it for someone else’ than ‘what’s in it for me’. This is the love that Jesus Christ has shown to us by laying down His life on our behalf for us to receive redemption. Our interest was what was on Christ’s mind, not His own.

2. A love uncontaminated by counterfeit faith. In a world where copy and paste are the order of the day and where originality has become a vague concept, we understand that the faith Christ presents to us is a one-of-a-kind faith. It is a faith that understands how much God loves us. It is a faith that stems from the relationship Jesus has with the Father. It is a faith that builds on the foundation of who God is. Jesus knew that the Father’s love for Him as his only begotten Son in whom He is well pleased would raise him from the dead. Jesus wasn’t afraid that the Father could walk away from Him, leaving Him to experience death. No, Jesus knew that the Father would, by the power of the Holy Spirit, raise Him from the grave on the third day as He has promised.

What would my daily life be if the way I love is uncontaminated with self-interest?

What would my life be like if the way I express love were grounded on a faith that is built on who God the Father really is?