It's like the chicken and the egg... which comes first: love or faithfulness? Righteousness or peace? It's a bit of a conundrum, but we should seek them all as they are intertwined as tight as a woven sheet. When we love, we are being righteous. When we are authentically righteous (as opposed to behaving a certain way out of guilt or fear), we are being so out of faithfulness. When we love, we seek peace. When we seek peace, we do so for love's sake. So what comes first? Who cares... carry these with you at all times and ask yourself, what God is calling you to do in every situation in which you find yourself. Love God, and these will follow naturally... hmmm... maybe we just found our answer and it's not such a riddle after all...
Readings: Joshua 13:1-14:15; Luke 18:1-17; Psalms 85:1-13; Proverbs 13:7-8