HAVING FAITH
Oct 02
I want to close this week with a thought about faith. How do you know when you have it? How does it become real? I am afraid that more often than not, we hope God will give us what we want when we want it. This is not the way works. He is trying to shift your what you value—He is helping us to treasure greater things. Let’s look:
1 Peter 1:3-7
Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4 and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade–kept in heaven for you, 5 who through faith are shielded by God’s power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time. 6 In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. 7 These have come so that your faith–of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire–may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed.
Notice the language in the first 3 verses. Great mercy—new birth—living hope—these are what we’ve been given in Christ. Our hope towards what will one day be everything we need. It requires faith to believe this. We are shielded as in watched over and held onto until our salvation is fulfilled. This only happens in one of two ways. Either Jesus returns or we stop breathing.
But the hope lies even beyond that! This is wonderful news. But now comes the sobering news. Look at verse 6 & 7. What is it that proves our faith to be real? What causes our faith to bring glory and honor and praise to Christ? It is endurance. It is REMAINING even when it doesn’t feel right.
The reason is not to prove it to us as though we are doubting that. But to prove in a way that reveals our faith to be the most precious thing we have. This is not an exaggeration, but precisely a Biblical truth. “So that your faith-of greater worth than gold.”
So how does this help us? Remain. Remain. Remain. If a man remains in me—I will remain in him. This is a reality of Christ. This will prove to be more precious, so remain. Rejoice. Remain and rejoice. There you go…
Lord, this can sound so trite when life can be so hard. Shift my values so I focus as much on building my faith as I do my wealth. Continue to cause my faith to be a reality and I will endure whatever you call me to… because this is my living hope and my eternal life. I will trust you in that. Amen.
