“Let’s light this candle!”
~ Alan Shepard
(Waiting inside his Mercury capsule for the command that would start the countdown and make him the first American in space)
And without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him. By faith Noah, being warned by God about things not yet seen, in reverence prepared an ark for the salvation of his household, by which he condemned the world, and became an heir of the righteousness which is according to faith.
~ Hebrews 11:6-7
~ Hebrews 11:6-7
Oh beloved, it is true.
We gotta believe.
But…
There are three kinds of faith in Christ:
1. Struggling faith, like a man in deep water desperately swimming.
2. Clinging faith, like a man hanging to the side of a boat.
3. Resting faith, like a man safely within the boat (and able to reach out with a hand to help someone else get in).
~D.L. Moody
~D.L. Moody
And this writer is learning that while it is very safe and stable in the boat, it is very easy to get up and think it might just be a good idea to jump back in the water.
Goofy? Yeah… but we all get tempted to do it.
But, we don’t ever have to get out of the boat!
It is a trustworthy statement:
For if we died with Him, we will also live with Him;
If we endure, we will also reign with Him;
If we deny Him, He also will deny us;
If we are faithless, He remains faithful, for He cannot deny Himself.
~ 2 Timothy 2:11-13
The passage above can seem enigmatic but is actually abundantly simple. It follows the course of the entire message of the very good news of the The Gospel: Repent! For the Kingdom of Heaven is here! Just like in the opening phrase of Jesus opening sermon, we see the core of the message: We must die to self, we must give up, we must become poor in spirit.
But, in that dying to self, we then get a whole new Life: We get Him! Christ does not just give us life – He becomes our very Life. And then this new life becomes a race to the golden streets of the Kingdom, where the whole purpose for our earthly suffering will become apparent. The only thing that will keep us out is to deny Him His rightful place in our life as Saviour and Lord. Because even our best faith is not going to save us – rather it is the Object of our faith (say JESUS!) who is the One who accomplishes this work for us.
So, when our faith is weak – and we are tempted to jump out of the boat, perhaps we could be a bit more like that American hero Alan Shepard. The man laid on his back, and rested against a gargantuan power source to launch him into space.
Can we see it? The power of His Grace makes the massive power of a Mercury rocket – truly seem a little candle in comparison. Why in the world would we want to jump out of the boat when we are being supplied with an Infinite Source of power, protection, purpose and ability.
This writer is learning faith. G_d has given him a heaping portion. But i have still got to learn to use it properly. And in actuality faith is never to be used. It is rather something in us that directly engages the real Source of Power to do His thing in our lives.
Anyone for a little resting on the Infinite Power Source?! Yeah, this writer is gonna go just do exactly that tonight.
“Faith makes all things possible… love makes all things easy.”
~D.L. Moody
