What does that phrase mean to you? Maybe it means keeping Jesus at the forefront, serving Him by serving others, relying on his strength, and many other things I could but won’t list. I love what I recently read about faith by John Ortberg and wanted to share with you the following:
“Many people, when they consider faith, think ‘I believe that God exists,’ or ‘Scripture is accurate,’ or ‘Love is the greatest virtue.’
But at its core, faith is not simply the belief in a statement; it puts trust in a person. We all think we want certainty. But we don’t. What we really want is trust, wisely placed.
The disciples looked at Jesus, and they thought, I like his life. I wish I could live like that. When they tried doing the things that Jesus instructed, they found that his teachings made sense when they acted on them. Forgiving worked better than vengeance. Generosity worked better than hoarding. They began to believe these truths for themselves. The growth of the disciples looked something like this: First they had faith in Jesus; then they began to have the faith of Jesus. Their mental maps began to look like Jesus’ mental map. Finally, after his crucifixion and resurrection and the coming of the Holy Spirit, his disciples realized that Jesus is the Savior of the world — that he really is the revelation of God himself — and therefore they trusted him with their eternal destinies as well.
Trust is better than certainty because it honors the freedom of persons and makes possible growth and intimacy that certainty alone could never produce. There can be no intimacy without trust.
Elton Trueblood wrote these words, and I think they are profoundly true: The deepest conviction of the Christian is that Christ was not wrong. Faith involves certain beliefs. Faith involves an attitude of hope and confidence. But at its core, faith is trusting a person.”
“The LORD is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in him, and he helps me. My heart leaps for joy, and with my song I praise him.” Psalm 28:7
Father, thank you that I can come to you just as I am, you meet me where I am, and I can put my full trust in your loving care for me.
John Ortberg, “What Do I Really Believe?” March 14, 2014
www.johnortberg.com/what-do-i-really-believe/