Articles
Faith
If you were hanging suspended on a high mountain by a rope, how strong would you want the rope to be? Our tie to God, life, and reality is the slender strength of our faith. For that reason, it’ s logical for us to want our faith to be as strong and vital as we can make it.
For our faith to be strong and vital it must be our own. We must fight against a faith that is nothing more than living off the fumes of the convictions of others. If our faith is not our own, when times of crisis come we will fail. Timothy received his faith from his mother and grandmother (2 Tim. 1:5), but he had to make it his own. Joseph’s faith was his own, not Jacob’s. It was not Jacob’s faith that kept him from the bed of Potiphar’s wife in Egypt. It was not Jacob’s faith that sustained him while in prison and delivered him from bitterness and cynicism. It is imperative that each one of us in a local church be engaged in developing personal faith in every disciple. When all we have is some accommodative faith or faith in a group of people we will fail.
For our faith to be strong, we need to have the faith of Abraham. Abraham’s faith was an attitude of life. It was not some heroic endeavor wrapped up in one grand demonstration like offering Isaac on the altar. Abraham’s faith was not a once in a lifetime event. It was a way of life. When we measure the faith of Abraham we look at the totality of his life. Abraham was not justified by a single event, such that he had to do nothing else. He did something. He continued in faith.
For our faith to be successful, it must be a natural part of our lives. We might recall first attempts to drive a standard shift automobile. First attempts were uncoordinated, spastic, herky-jerky, and totally frustrating. However, after long practice and use, driving a stick shift became second nature. Well, that is the way of a Christian. First attempts of living a life of faith are miserable, frustrating, and disappointing. It is hard because we have practiced living in sin, rebellion, selfishness, and stubbornness. So that after a while we became good at sinning. Therefore, when we try to live a righteous life after long practice in sin we fail, stumble, falter, and think it is useless to try. But stay in there; just as sin is learned by long practice so righteousness is learned by long practice. So that after a while living a life of righteousness will become easier. Over time we will learn to be righteous, submissive, and selfless. The will of God will become our will. It will be a victory of faith. It will be a natural faith. What we are will be an expression of what we believe. When what we are becomes what we are no one can take that from us.
