…about living by faith

I grew up in church.  What does that mean?  It means that my mom was a Christian and took my siblings and I to church a minimum of three times a week - twice on Sunday and again on Wednesday night.  It means that from a very young age I heard the stories of the Bible.  I may not have understood them all but I heard them and accepted them as true (as opposed to works of fiction like most of the books I checked out from the library).

Last night I was playing cards with a group of friends who also all grew up in church.  One of the women said that she understood why many people found it hard to accept that God inspired the Bible and that it is all true.  I agree - to a point.  A donkey talking, a man surviving in the belly of a great fish without being harmed, a man getting into a chariot of fire and being taken into heaven, and a virgin getting pregnant are some pretty hard to believe stories.  How can I believe these are not merely allegorical stories made up to promote or defend someone’s worldview or religion?  That is a very good question.  It is a very important question. What one believes affects how one behaves.  And so, I have often listened to preachers and teachers and wondered, “Does he/she REALLY believe what they are teaching?”  Because sometimes it seems a bit fantastical to hear someone say they are willing to die for their faith and see them live like everyone around them - as if there will never come a time of reckoning and judgement.  And even worse, sometimes I look at my own life and wonder if I am exhibiting to others what I say I believe.

I was studying this morning for a Bible Study I intend to write and it dawned on me that when Paul said, “The just shall live by faith,” he meant it!  Paul wasn’t just quoting scripture, Paul lived by his faith!

  “Five times I received from the Jews the forty lashes minus one.  Three times I was beaten with rods, once I was pelted with stones, three times I was shipwrecked, I spent a night and a day in the open sea,  I have been constantly on the move. I have been in danger from rivers, in danger from bandits, in danger from my fellow Jews, in danger from Gentiles; in danger in the city, in danger in the country, in danger at sea; and in danger from false believers.  I have labored and toiled and have often gone without sleep; I have known hunger and thirst and have often gone without food; I have been cold and naked.  Besides everything else, I face daily the pressure of my concern for all the churches.” (2 Corinthians 11:24-28 NIV)

I want my life to be one that shows others how to live by faith!