Faith matters!

One of my favorite verses is Hebrews 11:6, “And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.” Together with verse 1, “Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.”

So what about faith to grow? We’re all created to grow, mature, and become Christ-like. My conviction is this: I believe most people come to church looking for answers to life’s problems. We come with a hope for something outside ourselves to help solve our problems, which by the way is a great start! To realize that I am not God is a revelation in itself. Then something gets communicated that tells us to mask our troubles, hide our pain, act the part, and it’s okay to ask Jesus for help, but don’t let on that you have issues that haven’t been solved since you’ve accepted Him as your Lord and Savior.

Our faith to grow somehow gets pushed aside because we fear nonacceptance rather than non-growth, so we get on the performance bandwagon. No one told us that getting to this point is just the beginning. Our faith to grow has to submit to being nurtured by grace, trained in truth, and matured over time. Thereby being equipped to invest ourselves into the lives of those who follow (making disciples).

So here are my questions to you. Does your faith include a church family? Are you being trained by God and others? Are you being obedient even when you can’t see the benefit? Are you letting God dictate your next step? Does your faith extend beyond a once a week service? Does it allow for God to give you a burden to carry – for God to ask you to do something that is beyond your natural abilities; or for God to do things in your life for your benefit without your understanding at the time?

We are called to a relationship with God and to become mature in that relationship. We walk with a faith that the God of all grace will provide the resources available for the maturation process. But know this: He will not give us full control of that process.

Our being sure of growing as God desires us to grow should make us certain of what we do not see and that is fruit. Our faith in God’s growth process should always keep us mindful that fruit is the expected result. Jesus tells us that our producing much fruit glorifies God and proves we are His disciples.

So where are you in your faith journey to grow and become like Christ? God’s plan for each of us includes maturing, solving life’s problems, and producing fruit such as, love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Does your faith support this?