1. Love God, love others.

I consider this principle as my mission and purpose in life. It is the very depth of God’s character to love,
and as believers, our character must reflect God’s character. One of His commandments is to love – love
God with all your heart, soul, strength, and mind – and love your neighbor as yourself. If you love God,
you keep His commandments (John 14:15). In a world full of hate, destruction, pain, and the like, I
believe that Love surpasses all those. Love makes the world a better place. In fact, Love did save us from
the doom of eternal suffering (John 3:16). Because God first loved me, I’d want to have the privilege of
being an extension of His love. By living my life driven by love, I know I am pleasing God and I am
pointing others to the Love that saves.

2. Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways,
submit to Him, and He will make your paths straight. (Proverbs 3:5-6)

I believe that the Lord’s thoughts aren’t our thoughts, neither are our ways His ways (Isaiah 55:8). I also
believe that God knows the plans He has for us – it is to prosper us and not harm us; it is to give us hope
and a future (Jeremiah 29:11). In life, it is inevitable that we face uncertainties and doubts. Sometimes,
we even feel lost. With that, it is easy for us to just lean on to what our minds can comprehend at the
moment. We lean on to our own understanding in regards to whatever the circumstances we’re facing.
The danger in that is it may drive us to draw further away from God.

When we trust God, we acknowledge who He is; we remind ourselves of His perfect character – loving,
good, faithful, sovereign, and a promise-keeper. We hold on to who He is and His promises for us. When
we submit our all to Him even if we may not understand, there is a promise that He will make our paths
straight. When we stay rooted in Him, it is easier to discern and to go after His will for us that’ll make
our paths straight.

3. Friends, don't get me wrong: By no means do I count myself an expert in all of this, but I've got
my eye on the goal, where God is beckoning us onward - to Jesus. I'm off and running, and I'm
not turning back. (Philippians 3:13-14 MSG)

As a Christian, though I am called to be like Christ, I continue to make mistakes. I still fail. In fact, I'll
never obtain complete sanctification until I stand before the Lord (the goal). The thing is, we have a
problem to deal with called the flesh. Our flesh pulls us toward sin and away from the prize of the
upward call. Our flesh keeps us aware of our need to diligently press on toward the goal. Even if I am
already secured of the Lord's love for me, I still struggle with my flesh and sometimes, the guilt of my
past. We have past mistakes that may hold us back to press on towards our goal.
But it says in Galatians 2:20: ”I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me.
The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.” I
am often reminded to let go of the past and strain forward to what lies ahead. It is tempting to let
yesterday's failures disrupt you from the goal of your call. Even then, may we always choose to press on
for the prize until we meet the Lord Jesus at the finish line.