M.O. FOR THE CHRISTIAN -- Devotional for February 22, from "Good Seeds"

We give thanks to God…since we heard of your FAITH in Christ Jesus, and your LOVE for all the saints, because of the HOPE laid up for you in heaven… (Colossians 1:3-5)

Modus Operandi: this Latin term used by crime-fighters refers to the method of operation, the distinct pattern or predictable procedure that suggests the work of a single perpetrator of more than one crime. There’s a good reason to apply this term to a Christian. Oh, he’s not a criminal, but see how the two are linked in this sober reflection: “If you were accused of being a Christian in a court of law, would there be enough evidence to get a conviction?” That evidence would fit into a particular set of values leading to a pattern of behavior difficult to conceal, as clearly listed in today’s passage: FAITH, LOVE, and HOPE. I remember a song from my childhood: “I’ve got faith, hope and charity; that’s the way to live successfully. How do I know? The Bible tells me so.” It wasn’t until many years later that I discovered the Bible really does say it, that success for the Christian is defined by these three things. Now, Faith is not just part of our Sunday finest that we pull out and put on before going to church. Hope is not that wishful thinking we turn to when all logic and reality tell us “it ain’t gonna happen!” And Love is not “that feeling you feel when you feel like you’ve never felt before!” (I heard that definition at Bible camp when I was a kid, and it stuck!) But true Faith, Hope, and Love are three very distinct marks of the Christian – whether he’s fellowshiping with other believers, or hobnobbing with mainstream society. And, try as he may, he cannot hide them. Hope, for the Christian, is not putting our minds in neutral, trying to deny all that we’ve been taught in school, so that we can dream about a fantasy certainly too good to be true. No! Paul speaks of “that blessed hope” in Titus 2:13, as the looking forward to the glorious appearing of our Lord Jesus, when He returns to take us to our real home. The Bible doesn’t speak of Hope as an attitude or opinion so much as it is a person and a place. Hope is the focus of our thinking, the direction of our journey. But Faith IS that attitude, far more than a strong opinion, but an assurance rooted in the evidence God gives us by the work of His hands (things seen), and His work in our hearts (things not seen), that the things we hope for are not a mere dream, but a reality yet to be realized. Without this faith (and hope and love) it is not only “impossible to please Him,” but impossible to distinguish the Christian from the world-ling. How about you? Is there enough evidence to convict you of the crime of being a Christian?