The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love.
Galatians 5:6b (NIV)
Faith expressing itself through love. Faith — something we think of as so interior and personal and hidden in our hearts — works in a very practical way and wriggles itself into the outside world through love. To serve one another, to bear with one another, to forgive one another takes faith. What else could empower us to do the sometimes seemingly impossible? Such tremendous feats of love, especially carried out with any amount of joy, certainly require a settled assurance of what we hope for, a trust in God’s way over and above our own way. “By faith…” like the Hebrews chapter 11 “Hall of Faith” says. What is it that I need to do today “by faith”? Who is it that I need to love today “by faith”?
Holidays can be hard. Vacation mode lifts us out of our regular routines, giving us much-needed rest but also time for reflection. Situations that have been simmering contentedly on our back burners have a way of sliding to the front of our stoves, even boiling over in their demand to be dealt with. So if this sixth day of Christmas finds you stewing over a pot of something that you have no idea how to season and serve up, remember the only thing that counts — your unshakable trust in God expressing itself in LOVE!
My Peace in the Puzzle 