1 Corinthians 15:58 Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord.

Some things in the Christian Life are Not Optional

Some things that the Lord tells us to do, in the Christian life, are not optional.  As a matter of fact, really nothing is optional.  We cannot choose who we are going to forgive and who we are not going to forgive.  We are commanded to forget some things in the past and go on.  It is not optional to keep dwelling on the past.  It is not optional whether you follow the Lord after you are saved.  Yes, you can make a decision not to do any of these; however, you are not going to please the Lord unless you do.  There are not some commandments we can choose to live by and others we can ignore.  The Christian life is not a la carte.

Maintaining Consistency Through the Power of the Cross

The important thing, in the Christian life, is to maintain consistency.  That is only possible if we abound and grow in God’s work.  We must not live by our own power; but rather, by His power.  When we can’t love someone, we need to draw on the love of God and his power to love others.  We have the Holy Ghost inside of us; we need to recognize that power, and use it to overcome and grow.  When it is time to forgive and forget, we need the power of the cross that is available to us to overcome.  God so loved the world.  We can love that same world through his love that dwells in our heart by faith.  We can’t just choose to opt out and hold a grudge.  For the Christian, forgiveness is not an option, along with a lot of other things.  Are you steadfast and firm in your belief; or do you take the easy way out, just quit, and let the devil win?