However He brings things about through our faithfulness i.e. actions full of faith or grounded in and by faithful dependence on God's love/Spirit. Faithfulness that is driven by the strength and power we experience when his infinite love seeps deeply into our heart and soul.
The greater our faithfulness (actions that come by or out of faith), the more fruitful the outcome.
"...For this I toil, struggling with all his energy that he powerfully works within me..." - Paul an apostle of Jesus. Col 1:29
"...Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, so now, not only as in my presence but much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure..." - Paul an apostle of Jesus. Php 2:12-13
These verses paint a picture of how God works in and through humanity. It is not simply God that works directly on the world but God works in and through us to accomplish what he seeks to do.
For our part in this joint effort or partnership, the question isn't whether hard work pays off but rather what is driving (or should drive) our hard work.
For a follower of Jesus, being driven out of a desire to honor God and put him on display, in all his glory, is our ultimate motive.
But what creates this desire?
We can't and won't live for the glory of God unless we have personally experienced him in all his glory. This is not something we make ourselves do, it is who we become as we behold, participate and experience him in all his infinite beauty (II Cor 3:17-18). And that beauty is displayed most fully in the incarnation and work of Christ on our behalf.
1Jn 4:19 We love because he first loved us.
Believing God loves us with an infinite and eternal love no matter what, causes us to fall more and more in love with him and creates in us the desire to want to show him off. We want others to see this God who loves in this way. The more we see his love for us the more we desire to put him on display (glorify him) and desire others to see him in all his love.
On the flip side however, a major means by which we experience the love of God is our faithfulness/obedience. For more on this click here.
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Grace to you
Jim Deal