Not why but how?

“Not why but how?” The test of our faith must come, it will be part of the Christians life, and it has to happen to prove our legitimacy for all who belong in God’s army.

When I was a boy I thought like a boy, but when I became a man I was forced to think like a man. Now much of what I do is still full of childlike attributes, some of the slang I used back then I still use today. Words like; guf (to swim), wally or lemon (someone who acts without thinking) and the like are still very much a part of who I am today. I suppose that keeps my mind young in a sense, I may be wrong. But that is not my point! The reality of having to be responsible for others is now a factor of life I now face. Necessity has become part of my life, God has so ordained it! If I do not work I will not eat, and those whom have been placed under my care will suffer. Both the Christian and the heathen have this responsibility as adults. The sin of one man has forced us to face this actuality with death as our end; “And to Adam he said, "Because you have listened to the voice of your wife and have eaten of the tree of which I commanded you, 'You shall not eat of it,' cursed is the ground because of you; in pain you shall eat of it all the days of your life; thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you; and you shall eat the plants of the field. By the sweat of your face you shall eat bread, till you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken; for you are dust, and to dust you shall return."” (Genesis 3:17-19)

However once we are contractually bound to Christ through salvation, we are called to wear a specific hat, the hat of the Christian. The rules of engagement now differ from our lives prior to our commitment to Christ and visa-versa. Christ now looks out for us as His sheep. He will never falter with His responsibilities, that He has already proved by dying on a cruel Roman cross for all those whom the Father has given Him; “I am praying for them. I am not praying for the world but for those whom you have given me, for they are yours. All mine are yours, and yours are mine, and I am glorified in them. And I am no longer in the world, but they are in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, keep them in your name, which you have given me, that they may be one, even as we are one.” (John 17:9-11) – With that established and our great Saviour looking out for us, we have a new set of rules that we must now understand and make our own. We have been contractually bought with a price of God dying in our place, not for His sin as he had no sin, but for our sin. The price could not have been higher; nevertheless it has been paid, once and for all. We now belong to God and we are enrolled in the book of life. With that said, we now need to understand the rules of engagement!

Here then are some of those directions; “Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you. But rejoice insofar as you share Christ's sufferings, that you may also rejoice and be glad when his glory is revealed. If you are insulted for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you.” (Peter 4:12-14) - The Christian will and must be tested, it is part of the script that God has orchestrated. Therefore be encouraged when we face the tests life throws at us, especially when we are persecuted for our faith. The absence of that type of test must make us question our standing in Christ. Our existence must not now be based on our emotions per say but rather on sound doctrine from the teachings of the Bible.

There are other tests we also face, the trial of our faith! Those tests that force us to trust God regardless of what we face when in need and which causes us to worry. These tests root out all our hedging as self-sufficient individuals. The deeper we pursue these avenues of faith the stronger our dependency becomes on our God. Abraham is the father of faith and this is why he has been given that title and not by men but by God; “By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to a place that he was to receive as an inheritance. And he went out, not knowing where he was going. By faith he went to live in the land of promise, as in a foreign land, living in tents with Isaac and Jacob, heirs with him of the same promise. For he was looking forward to the city that has foundations, whose designer and builder is God.” (Hebrews 11:8-10)

Our lives in eternity will be based on the faith we learn to apply to our daily lives here on earth. We tend to lose sight of this from time to time, but it needn’t happen, this is why I love these times of reflection as it helps us to trim our sails. God give us the strength to fight the good fight of faith in Him. We have a store room that we as Christians have the privilege of approaching with confidence so that when the test is severe we know that He will make a way of escape and supply the grace needed to get us through the trial, refining our faith, strengthening our weak faith and bringing glory to Him. Without this reality in our lives we will remain but babes in Christ!

Signing off

Tyrone