“Through love and faithfulness sin is atoned for; through the fear of the Lord evil is avoided.”

This verse can be difficult to grasp from a New Testament perspective. In reality, it offers a clear look at the first Christmas and its culmination on Easter Sunday. The ultimate expression of love is seen in the sending and sacrificing of God’s own Son. Faithfulness in our following Him should be the result. In Solomon’s time, an attempt to live a holy life aligned with the commandments, along with the annual blood sacrifice to cleanse the sin of the Jew, was the context for this passage. Our situation since the death, resurrection, and gift of the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit makes the moment-by-moment availability of God beyond comparison with what Old Testament Jews experienced. With that freedom and intimacy today comes a heightened responsibility to walk powerfully with our King. We can take sin instantly to the Father for forgiveness and cleansing. Our understanding of what it cost God to pay for our sin should have a purifying effect on our lives and actions. Even our thoughts should be taken captive by the reality of God’s constant presence in our journey—heart, mind, and body. Today, live faithfully in His love. #BeTheEdge

“This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him.” 1 John 4:9 NIV