The effort of faith

I don't know about you but I have been influenced a lot by a few key verses in scripture. Some of them have stood out that I wanted to share. Today, I wanted to focus on Ephesians 4 verse 1. There is a principle here which is reflected in a significant number of other scriptures. It is the principle which I have referred to in the title. It is not that we gain faith in a sense through effort, but rather that what faith we have, leads us to make an effort, or, ideally, that's what needs to happen to grow.

Let me explain. In order to make the most of something you have to use it. Even simple things like having a bottle of washing up liquid will be of no good if it is not then used to do the washing up. Faith is similar. We are given faith but in the day to day grind of life God does not force us to use it. There are times we have where we can choose to exercise it or not.

There is a call in scripture, echoed in Ephesians 4v1, whereby due to the signifcance of our 'saved-ness' we are called to make an effort to live according to what we have already been given. This also means that in terms of our spirituality, we will often not grow unless this happens.

Let's say that you have a severely overgrown hedge in the garden. A friend gives you a super powered lightweight, sharpe hedge trimmer that would make light work of getting the hedge back into shape. You have it, but you could leave the hedge to take over your garden, or, you could try cutting it back with scissors. It is a choice which one to use. This is where the effort of faith comes in.

Where genuine faith exists, we need to make the effort to exercise it.

God gives us faith, we can take no glory for it. But with it, if we are to grow, we need to use it to grow further. Obvious examples would be reading your bible, praying, intercession etc. But these seem like the answers for everything. What people miss are the details. How you pray, and what you pray for, exercising faith is more than simply praying, giving, doing good deeds. Atheists can read Bibles and do good deeds. So what is the different between reading your Bible, and reading your Bible in faith? Have a think for a moment, and see what sort of answer you can give.

Hebrews helps us with this by defining faith. Hebrews 11 verse 1 implies faith involves certainty at different levels. Firstly of hoped for things, and secondly unseen things. What this implies is that faith is not reading your bible, praying, giving, serving. These are all things which we can see and know in the flesh. Faith, is something else. This means 2 things, 1. We can do all these things with zero faith and 2. That faith and Christian living, is something other than all that we typically do in and through church.

What is the difference between reading of scripture with faith and, lets say an Atheist who is reading it? Faith implies a certainty about God, the truth of who he is and who we are to him. Faith means knowing (being sure and certain) that God is with us and that what he says is true. Faith is trusting in a personal being above yourself. Faith, ultimately, is relational. This is why it is impossible to please God without faith, because it implies that what you are doing is done outside of your relationship with God-by yourself, on your own, regardless of the appearance of religious piety.

So what does it mean to grow in this way? If faith is relational, then the effort of faith would be to exercise trust, grow in his truth, learning to do more and more by Christ, through Christ, in Christ, according to his word. When you read the BIble, do so in faith, knowing how it is that you are learning about, coming to him, personally and relationally with whatever you are reading. As you learn, see how you can apply, in faith (trusting relationship), what you have learnt. Faith is the foundation, it is the starting point of everything else. Hence, in 2 Peter, he does not say, add to your faith... more faith. He implies that faith is what you add to with other things, because faith is what makes all the other things flow from God. Spiritually, you cannot grow in the other things without already having faith.

Our first ever act of faith is always, turning to Christ and away from sin and our rejection of God. The rest, we got to make an effort, a relational effort to exercise the faith we have been given to help us grow in and through faith in Christ. Being sure and certain in the hope and reality of what you believe, and enable to fulfill Ephesians 4v1 ans live a life worthy of that amazing calling.

Faith is a gift, using it is a choice.

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