Living in faith is living a life of spirituality.
What does it entail? It demands a major decision in life to be interested in spiritual things, that is, things of the Spirit, instead of things of the flesh, just as Paul said, "For those who are according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who are according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit.
" (Romans 8:5).
According to Paul, if you are interested in things of the flesh, you become self-centered, and your motivation in life is self-oriented.
In other words, your focus in life is more on yourself, rather than on God or others.
As a result, you are prone to compromising to the wisdom of this world, and hence easily succumb to sin because "the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and death.
" (Romans 8:2) Nowadays, living in faith is not only a challenge but also a daily struggle.
Living in faith is the tallest order in contemporary living, but it is essential to developing a personal relationship with God.
Living in faith is an ongoing process of struggle as well as discovery - struggle against self-will and the temptation of material things; discovery of the self and the mystery of God.
In this process, you learn to negate self, to subordinate self-will to the will of God.
This is never easy.
But your heart yearnings for the Spirit through your decision to believe will be richly rewarded.
Faith inspires action through your decision to believe, which is the foundation for your spiritual life, the cornerstone of your personal relationship with God.
Your decision to believe underscores your desire to understand the essence of life.
You may begin to ask yourself the crucial question: Is that all there is to life? This is especially true as you approach the end of your life journey.
Many of us believe in God, but not too many of us believe that God is related to us personally, with a pivotal role in every aspect of our daily life.
However, once we make that major decision to believe, we become transformed into another level of being and existence - which is living in faith.
Such inexplicable transformation is like Peter's decision to walk on water.
"Peter said to Him, 'Lord, if it is You, command me to come to You on the water.
' And He said, 'Come!' And Peter got out of the boat, and walked on the water, and came towards Jesus.
But seeing the wind, he became frightened, and beginning to sink, he cried out, 'Lord, save me!' Immediately, Jesus stretched out His hand and took hold of him, and said to him, 'You of little faith, why did you doubt?'" (Matthew 14:28-31) The above Scripture shows that Peter actually made the decision to believe, as demonstrated by his initial walking on the water.
But, because he focused on self, that is, his fear, rather than on Jesus, he began to sink.
Peter's decision to walk on the water was a spiritual one.
Later in life, Peter stumbled a few more times before he was totally transformed by the Spirit.
This is a testament that living in faith is the tallest order; nevertheless, we need to make that decision to believe in order to develop a personal relationship with God.
Just let God transform us.
Copyright (c) 2009 Stephen Lau
What does it entail? It demands a major decision in life to be interested in spiritual things, that is, things of the Spirit, instead of things of the flesh, just as Paul said, "For those who are according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who are according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit.
" (Romans 8:5).
According to Paul, if you are interested in things of the flesh, you become self-centered, and your motivation in life is self-oriented.
In other words, your focus in life is more on yourself, rather than on God or others.
As a result, you are prone to compromising to the wisdom of this world, and hence easily succumb to sin because "the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and death.
" (Romans 8:2) Nowadays, living in faith is not only a challenge but also a daily struggle.
Living in faith is the tallest order in contemporary living, but it is essential to developing a personal relationship with God.
Living in faith is an ongoing process of struggle as well as discovery - struggle against self-will and the temptation of material things; discovery of the self and the mystery of God.
In this process, you learn to negate self, to subordinate self-will to the will of God.
This is never easy.
But your heart yearnings for the Spirit through your decision to believe will be richly rewarded.
Faith inspires action through your decision to believe, which is the foundation for your spiritual life, the cornerstone of your personal relationship with God.
Your decision to believe underscores your desire to understand the essence of life.
You may begin to ask yourself the crucial question: Is that all there is to life? This is especially true as you approach the end of your life journey.
Many of us believe in God, but not too many of us believe that God is related to us personally, with a pivotal role in every aspect of our daily life.
However, once we make that major decision to believe, we become transformed into another level of being and existence - which is living in faith.
Such inexplicable transformation is like Peter's decision to walk on water.
"Peter said to Him, 'Lord, if it is You, command me to come to You on the water.
' And He said, 'Come!' And Peter got out of the boat, and walked on the water, and came towards Jesus.
But seeing the wind, he became frightened, and beginning to sink, he cried out, 'Lord, save me!' Immediately, Jesus stretched out His hand and took hold of him, and said to him, 'You of little faith, why did you doubt?'" (Matthew 14:28-31) The above Scripture shows that Peter actually made the decision to believe, as demonstrated by his initial walking on the water.
But, because he focused on self, that is, his fear, rather than on Jesus, he began to sink.
Peter's decision to walk on the water was a spiritual one.
Later in life, Peter stumbled a few more times before he was totally transformed by the Spirit.
This is a testament that living in faith is the tallest order; nevertheless, we need to make that decision to believe in order to develop a personal relationship with God.
Just let God transform us.
Copyright (c) 2009 Stephen Lau
SHARE
