Growing In Faith

 

Some parades are planned; others are spontaneous. For example, the Thanksgiving Day Parade in New York City and the Rose Parade on New Year’s Day in Pasadena are planned parades. A ton of preparation goes into these parades. Yet, other parades, by comparison, are spontaneous. Take, for example, the parade that is put together when a football team wins a state or national championship. Within days, plans for a parade materialize. This team may not be a winner again for many years. In both types of parades, however, crowds line the streets. Perhaps you’ve been in such a crowd. Sometimes, confetti drizzles down like rain from the windows of skyscrapers, like those on Broadway in New York. The cheering might be so loud, it makes any chance of a conversation impossible. On Palm Sunday, we remember that Jesus was in a parade — a spontaneous one. It wasn’t planned, and in fact, for transportation, all they had for Jesus was a little donkey! People waved palm branches and cheered. For one day, Jesus was a real celebrity. Yet how quickly the mood changed! Within days, Jesus was taken from his admirers, betrayed and seized by his enemies. Today, I am dismayed that Jesus had to endure a phony trial. I wonder where all his supporters went. And I wonder: Would I, too, have abandoned Jesus in the hour of his death? Would I be brave enough today to stand up for Jesus? Do I willingly act as a peacemaker? Am I the first to identify with someone who is different and lonely? Do I do what is right, even if it is not the popular viewpoint? —Melanie Silva

[Romans 19:17] “…faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.” Christians, in some ways, are like anyone else. We all tend to become lax about matters that should be basic and indispensable. It is like eating well. Anyone can learn how proper nutrition works and can even begin to do what it requires. But there is always the human characteristic to revert back to old behavior, even when we know it is not good for us.

Daily Bible reading is like this. Within the heart of every Christian, we know that the life-stream of our faith is the Word of God. If we did not know that we would not even be a Christian. Somewhere in our history we had to have read or heard the Word, or we would not have come to believe in Jesus and His gospel. Like so many other healthy behaviors, however, over time, we become careless and abandon our healthy regiment.

Do we remember how important faith is? Can we recall that it is “…the victory that has overcome the world…” (1 John 5:4)? Do we still know that it is the very foundation of all Christian virtues (2 Peter 1:5-8)? Do we still live by the rules “…without faith it is impossible to please Him…” (Hebrews 11:6) and “…The just shall live by faith” (Romans 1:17)? From the opening of the Bible to its closing, faith is at the core of everything we are to do as Christians. All would have to agree on that. But faith does not happen solely by prayer. Faith is not supernaturally poured out upon us nor does it come by simply force of will. We have to “learn” faith. It comes only by a continuous flow of the Word into our mind – no other way.

Those reading this article might think that a preacher like me would always be strong in faith. Not so! To build faith I have to read and listen to the Word as a powerful effort toward self-growth and not just to prepare a lesson or sermon. A preacher has to build on his faith just like any other Christian to keep it strong, healthy, and growing. He too must spend time in the Bible, especially when his faith waivers. There are many Bible reading schedules available to assist anyone in a daily feeding on God’s Word. Spend 30 minutes each day and see how strong and healthy your faith can become. (Colossians 2:6-7)