Faith is a reasoning trust, a trust which reckons thoughtfully and confidently upon the trustworthiness of God.
John R. W. Stott (1921- )
Moreover, look for able men from all the people, men who fear God, who are trustworthy and hate a bribe, and place such men over the people as chiefs of thousands, of hundreds, of fifties, and of tens.
~ Exodus 18:21
Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.
~ James 1:17
Every currency is based on a simple element. Trust. Even those hard currencies backed by some precious metal are based on the concept that everyone trusts that the value is transmitted in and through the paper or coin stamped with a value.
Actually, just about any relationship or interaction is based on this same simple element. Trust is the fulcrum upon which any movement can be levered. And without trust, the risk of making a move is simply too high.
Paul, the least of the Apostles, makes it clear in places like Philippians 3 that putting any trust in our own self is an exceedingly bad idea. However, in the same passage, he makes it clear that – while we don’t have any righteousness of our own – we are indeed being made righteous by believing only in the One who is trustworthy and does not change.
This righteousness that comes from God on the basis of faith changes a believer into something wholly other than he was before the moment of true belief. And this new man (when walking as this new man) is actually someone we are able to trust. This is a wonderful development for those in the body of Christ, because we can actually move into vital relationship and fellowship with each other. And within this common currency of trust among true believers, we are enabled to actually begin to count on each other for support and care and friendship and love and hope.
So, yeah, there are times when even the best of believers will fail in their flesh and have moments of breaking trust. However, the overriding factor of trust has shown itself true over the two millenia of the Church. For all the schisms, the body of our trustworthy Christ, is still living out its great commission through even black plagues and world wars.
Surely beloved, this is a sign of the trustworthiness of the One who makes even fallen humans able to trust each other! When we appropriate even the smallest grain of who He is, mountains move, people are healed, and eternity gets different.
Imagine friends – can we see it? What if all of us appropriated the entire trustworthiness of the One who is already living in us? What might happen in the Church? What might happen in the entire world!
What if we simply let Him live out this trustworthiness through our lives? Think that might change some things for the better? Ya think?
