123. Wala ka sa Lolo ko. For him, love for God is to keep His commands and to walk in obedience, through His grace.
8 March 2021
Photo by Emmanuel Phaeton from Unsplash
Love for God. To keep his commands, to walk in obedience, through His grace.
Faith in the Incarnate Son of God
1 John 5
3 In fact, this is love for God: to keep his commands. And his commands are not burdensome.
1 Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God, and everyone who loves the father loves his child as well.
2 John 1
6 And this is love: that we walk in obedience to his commands. As you have heard from the beginning, his command is that you walk in love.
While preparing for the blog, I came upon this on ABS-CBN News:
(Wesley) So’s chess career has thrived immensely, his latest victories coming from the Skillings Open and Euro Rapid events of the Meltwater Champions Tour, both at the expense of Norwegian world No. 1 Magnus Carlsen.
So has embraced the Christian beliefs of his adopted parents, giving an interview with the magazine Christianity Today about his faith."
The ABS-CBN News article provided the link on Christianity Today:
"TESTIMONY
I'm a Rare Breed: An Elite Chess Player Who’s Open About His Faith
WESLEY SO
AUGUST 18, 2017
"I have been assured that identifying openly as a Christian will interfere with sponsorship, support, and invitations to events. I have been told that spending time reading my Bible, praying, and going to church will inevitably weaken my performance. People plead with me to at least keep quiet. They say thanking God publicly makes me look ridiculous.
On the small planet where elite chess players dwell, very few people worship Jesus Christ. If anyone discovers that you’re one of those “superstitious,” “narrow-minded idiots,” you’re likely to see nasty comments accumulate on your Facebook fan page. On a regular basis, I receive emails from strangers lecturing me about the dangers of following Jesus. Out of pity or disgust, they wonder how I, the world’s second-ranked chess player, can be so “weak-minded.”
The God of Everything
Instead of worrying about the future, I try to focus on the work God has put before me. Right now it’s chess, so I study it diligently and play it as well as possible. Will I rise to become the world champion one day? Only God knows for sure. In the meantime, I know that he is a generous and loving father, always showering me with more blessings than I could possibly deserve. I content myself with playing one match at a time and practicing gratitude for my daily bread.
Did this testimony resonate with you?"
“The apostle John didn’t sidestep the harsh realities of Jesus’ life on earth; he wrote of both the good Jesus did and the challenges He faced. The final words from his gospel give insight into the purpose behind the book that bears his name. Jesus performed “many other signs . . . which are not recorded” (20:30) by John. But these, he says, were “written that you may believe” (v. 31). John’s “diary” ends on the note of triumph: “Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God.” The gift of those gospel words allows us the opportunity to believe and “have life in his name.””
The heading of the verses above from 1 John 5:
Faith in the Incarnate Son of God.
For myself, I follow Jesus publicly. One time, in my work I handled about 160 people, I made it known to everyone that I am a Christian; I started meetings with a prayer, I gave away copies of Our Daily Bread. I encouraged two (2) employees who suffered stroke to go easy when they reported back for work. I arranged for simple lunch for employees who received service awards, such the first time for the office. At times, I shared with some people the affliction I went through, being out of work in gaps over 5 years when my children were to start college, and enjoined them to value their job. I invited some people to Sunday worship.
I left that job without seeing anybody in particular publicly following Jesus. Yet, I know my labor is not in vain, for the Lord has his own time, and I can only do things through His grace.
Years after I left that job, people show me proper regard when I see them nowadays.
My prayer, part of reflection 28 October 2017.
"Lord, ".... if I obey Your word, love for God is truly made complete in me. This is how I know I am in You: I claim to live in You, I must live as Jesus did" (1 John 2:5-6). Lord, "Search me, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting" (Psalm 139:23-24). This I pray in Jesus' name. Amen."
As in the mentioned article about Wesley So: "Did this testimony resonate with you?"
Someday, my children's children will say, wala ka sa Lolo ko; for him, love for God is to keep His commands and to walk in obedience, through His grace.
May you be blessed with God's Word. Amen.
Maraming salamat.
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