LIVING BY FAITH

“For in the gospel the righteousness of God is revealed —a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written: ‘The righteous will live by faith.’”- Romans 1:17 “Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.”     - Hebrews 11:1 

          Why is having faith important? To not have faith is to believe only what you can see, taste and touch for yourself. To not have faith is to be like ‘Doubting’ Thomas who wouldn’t believe Christ was alive from the dead until he could touch where the nails had entered His hands and where the spear had pierced His side (John 20:19-31). We are being asked as Christians to believe in the unseen. The world says, “seeing is believing”; Christians say, “not seeing we believe anyway”. It must seem strange to non-believers that those who believe place their trust in something or someone they cannot sit down and have a conversation with. Believing such a thing defies logic. Even the fact that a man would willingly die for another man is illogical. Who would do such a thing? It boggles the mind of believers and non-believers alike. Yet we are not being asked to understand it; there is nothing to figure out. Belief and trust is what we are being asked to embrace; belief in an unseen deity who exists in an unseen spiritual realm. 

          Once we let go of our sensibilities and consider the possibilities of such a thing actually being true, we open ourselves up to God’s Spirit, who can expand our vision and ignite the ember that resides within us all. Once we give God the chance to change us from the inside out, we will never be the same. Everything looks different; we begin to see things we never saw before. We see things through spiritual eyes. 

          We are not just asked to belief but also to rely on God. Believing is one thing but allowing God to guide and direct you is quite another. As we begin to know God better through reading and hearing the word preached, we start to embark on a wonderful journey. We need to be Christ-centered in our thinking and our actions. It’s a growing process that never ends. If we allow God to do His work in us it will be impossible to remain the same as we once were. 

          We are seen by God as righteous through our acceptance of the forgiveness freely given. Our righteousness was born out of our faith to believe the unseen. A heavy price was paid for our redemption. A price we were and still are unable to pay. We must live our lives soberly, enjoying it, but not abusing it. In the end our lives speak volumes to those all around us. Make your life count for the kingdom. Until next time, walk with the King and be a blessing.

In His Name & for His Glory,

Richard Keller

Bread of Life Ministries