Goal Of Faith

Read: 1Peter 1:1-12 Goal of Faith
“Receiving the end of your faith, even the salvation of your souls.”1 Peter 1:9

Jesus defined for us what eternal life is, “ And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent” John 17:3 Our life here on earth is an ever increasing opportunity to draw nearer to knowing God and Jesus Christ. God is love and to know God is to know love. Every endeavour of our life, every trial, everything we go through can lead us into a revelation of God and His word. God has from the beginning desired that we know Him. God has said that there is no excuse for any man because all of creation is a finger pointing to Him “For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse ”Rom.1:20

John the Apostle writing on eternal life said, “And this is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son.” 1John 5:11 To have eternal life is to have Jesus and become increasingly like Him. “And we know that the Son of God is come, and hath given us an understanding, that we may know him that is true, and we are in him that is true, even in his Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God, and eternal life.”1 John 5:20

Eternal life is knowing and experiencing God and Jesus, this began the day we believed. Eternal life is not something just waiting to happen in the future. It is now. “Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life.” John 5:24

The one who is growing in the knowledge of God and Jesus is one who will begin to increasingly exhibit love. For God is Love. In other words we could say the goal of our faith is Love. To receive the ‘salvation of our souls” is to receive the Saviour himself and not just all that He did for us. “Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is.” 1 John 3:2 Paul the Apostle talks of it as “gaining Christ” The sign of one who is truly a son of God is that he or she is growing in love. Without this love Paul tells us exercising Holy Spirit gifts amount to nothing. {1 Corinthians 13}
Are you enjoying eternal life? “We know that we have passed from death unto life, because we love the brethren. He that loveth not his brother abideth in death” 1 John 3:14

The closest resemblance to God that we have on earth are our fellow brothers and sisters, our expression of love to God is shown in the way we love and treat one another. “Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.” Matt.25:40
How is your love life? May we excel in Love and enjoy eternal life today!

“Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God; and every one that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God.” 1 John 4:7