It seems as if the subject of faith has been coming up a lot recently in conversations I’ve had. My dad and I were talking about it just today.
Most of the time when faith is talked about it is coupled with works. We know that salvation requires faith in Jesus Christ alone. No amount of working will achieve for us eternity with God, Christ paid our way by dying on the cross and breaking down the walls of sin and death by rising from the grave!
But faith has become very abstract in our thinking; it is just an idea and a concept. Faith has become something only with our minds. That’s not biblical. Faith has always been a verb, an action. Faith is something we do.
That might not be new to you. James is clear in the second chapter of his book, where he talks about faith and deeds. “What good is it, my brothers, if a man claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save him?” (James 2:14).
It seems that people hear that and try harder to be “good.” They try to not gossip, to be less selfish, or to not speed. They try to listen to better music, read their Bible more, or say only nice things about others. There is a problem, though. Trying really hard only gets you so far, and then frustration comes.
No matter what we do, we can not make God love us more than he already does. Doing the right thing is as filthy rags to God, just as our sinful actions are. God loves his sons and daughters no matter how messy we are.
God wants us to get to know him, to love him. He wants us to sit with him and let his spirit saturate us. We need to take the time to sit with God and let our thoughts come into alignment with his. That’s when real faith steps in.
Faith as an action steps forward. Not because we have to, or because doing these good things gains for us anything we do not already have, but because after being with God we show our gratitude for what he has done for us through faithful obedience. It’s an overflow of our hearts, not a requirement.
My friend Jeremy is a good example of this. His life is lived in obedience to God. So much of what he does, does not make sense to the world. He did not become a man of faith by waiting for it to magically happen, though. He has practiced faithfulness.
He listens for Gods voice and then does what God is telling him. He puts himself in some extreme situations and then it is up to God to provide the answers and the way out! He depends on his time spent communing with God then loves people, and goes where God is leading.
It sounds so simple, but after hearing some of his stories, some might prefer to stay locked up in their houses away from the stress. Faith is definitely not easy.
All of this leads me to my illustration, the last part of my stories from my day at the park.
Pridge and I decided that we were done, so we turned around to find our way back along the trail we had wondered along. After a few snowballs had been thrown at each other I found myself a ways in front of my friend.
When I came upon the same fallen tree that lay spread out over the river, I made a quick decision to wait for Pridge by stalling and playing on the tree again. A fresh patch of snow sat piled up in front of me.
I stepped out right into the middle of it. It struck me right then how much faith I had in this moment. I had no clue what was underneath that snow. For all I knew, I could have stepped right through the branches and into the river.
My foot landed on shaky tree branches that threatened to give way, but I kept moving. I was less sure about my footing this time around, but I had much more confidence. I made it the first time even though slightly wet and I was certain I would not fall this time.
I turned slightly to go back up the incline that had made me nervous the first time, and climbed it with ease. The second time around had proved to be simple.
God tells us to do things we can handle, but they are rarely easy. He wants to stretch us. Then, just as soon as we are starting to feel comfortable, he stretches us again. It is continual and amazing if you dare to live it!
Soak in the presence of God, and then go live it! Live your faith!
“Don’t be afraid to go out on a limb. That’s where the fruit is.” ~ H. Jackson Brown Jr.
