Living by Faith

Each day, we make choices about who and what to trust, and much of the time we don't even think about it.  You may think, "Do I trust this person with a secret?"  Or, "Do I trust the my child to clean up her room?" However, you probably don't think "Do I trust the breaks on my car to stop me at this next stoplight?" or "Do I trust my oven mit to protect my hand from the hot pan?"  In those cases, you're trusting your breaks or the oven mit to do what they were created to do, and you don't even think about it.  You have faith that they'll do their job.

I am someone who grew up going to church, learned to sing "Jesus Loves Me" just about as soon as I learned to talk, and can't remember a time when I didn't trust the words of the Bible.  For a long time, I took that for granted.  Faith came easy, because I didn't even realize that I was putting my trust in God.  I just did because that's what I'd always done. It's similar to the breaks on my car.  You see, I'd never had a reason to question my faith in God, so I didn't.  It always seemed to work, so I just trusted. 

As I grew older, choices got harder, the world became more appealing, and, without even realizing it, I started to put my faith in other things.  I put my faith in my friends, my boyfriend, my education, and even myself.  As I did that, I started to notice that those things didn't always align with my faith in God.  Then, all of a sudden, instead of unintentionally putting my faith in those things, I was choosing to do so.  I put God in the backseat and put all my trust in those man-made breaks. 

Each day now, I have to choose where to put my faith.  I try to make it a concious choice; I try to choose God again day after day.  I'd like to say that I always put God above those wordly things, but I can't. I am human, and sometimes the appeal of the world blinds my eyes and I don't hit the breaks at all when I am coming to a stoplight.  As I am rolling through the intersection with cars speeding at me, that's when faith's friend grace comes to save me. 

As it says in Ephesians 2:8, "For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith."  That is to say that, even though I sometimes mess up and put my faith elsewhere, as long as I keep turning back to God, he will extend his grace and bring me home safely.  After all, the Bible also says in Matthew 17:20 "Truly I tell you, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed...Nothing will be impossible for you." 

Fletcher was baptized last Sunday, thus ceremonially beginning his journey with Christ. I am overjoyed that I am able to pass my faith in God down to my children, to teach them, and to show them what faith and grace look like.  Like any parent, I hope the path is easier for my children than it was for me.  I hope they make the right choices instead of the wrong ones and that they put their faith in God always.  But, I know they're human, and I know they'll mess up.  I just pray that they have faith, even faith the size of a mustard seed, and that they'll accept the grace God offers them each and every day.