Cake and Ice Cream

July 9

Some things just seem to go better together—cake and ice cream, salt and pepper, peanut butter and jelly, apple pie with whipped cream. We each have our taste preferences. Even if other people look at us as though we’re absolutely weird for enjoying them, the fact remains that we do prefer them.

In addition to our food preferences, there are things that go together in the business and professional world. Hard work is the precursor to success as indifference is to failure. In order to achieve those desirable ends that we labor to attain, we must couple our striving with the strategy that will achieve them.

God employs that ‘one/two’ punch in the great matter of our salvation. The Word tells us in John 3:16 that He so loves the world that He made the great sacrifice of His only begotten Son Jesus Christ to forgive mankind of sin. That simple verse combines two wonderful things—He loves; He gives.

When we have seen His love and received His free gift of salvation we will then apply that same pattern to our life of faith. We know there is nothing required that we add to our salvation. Jesus has done that to the uttermost, but James 2:22 says our faith is perfected by our works so let us believe fully and work diligently