Daily Devotional for Saturday, August 30

Maranatha

“Let all your things be done with charity. If any man love not the Lord Jesus Christ, let him be Anathema Maranatha,” 1 Corinthians 16:14, 22.

I have asked many people over the years if they love the Lord. The usual response I get is that they are saved and so, of course, they love Him. I remind people that just because they are saved does not mean that they actively love the Lord. I tell them that you can usually tell if someone loves the Lord by whether or not they are keeping His commandments. I also tell them that if they show that they love the other brethren, then it shows that they love the Lord. Ultimately, when the Lord returns, it will be revealed what kind of love we had for Him.

While Paul was giving his final instruction in 1 Corinthians 16, he told them to do everything for the Lord with love (verse 14). The word “Maranatha” means that the Lord has or is coming. It carries with it the idea of impending judgment when the Lord comes. When He does come, “And he shall judge the world in righteousness, he shall minister judgment to the people in uprightness” (Psalms 9:8). But to His church we are told, ”For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God: and if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God” (1 Peter 4:17). The Lord is coming back and wants us to love Him in our life. When you live your life trying to be obedient to the Lord but try doing it without loving Him, you are not fooling Him or anyone else.

JUST A THOUGHT

As you try to follow the Lord in your life, understand what His Word tells you, “Be ye also patient; stablish your hearts: for the coming of the Lord draweth nigh” (James 5:8).

Tim Chambers