Saturday, November 29, 2014

The Measurement of Faith

"The Measurement of Faith"

As I sit in great anticipation of yet another Thanksgiving meal, my mind drifts to the thought of another piece of pie and if I have another hole in my belt to facilitate all this eating I have done this week. This thought led me to the realization that I could stand to loose a few inches around the waist. The measurement of my waist has greatly increased since I graduated high school and married! These measurements have become an obsession in the mind of people in our generation. Honestly our society is filled with measurements. 
My brother-in-law and I found my Saga Genesis a few days ago and as we where playing I began to look at my parents home. It is virtually unchanged! I noticed out of the corner of my eyes some marks on the door frame, similar to the ones in the picture above. Each mark representing the height of either my sister, brother, or I as we grew throughout our early life. I remember the moment when I finally surpassed my brother in height. I was so excited to say, "I am taller then you are!"  Our measurements can be so exciting or, as in the first case, depressing, but without these measurements we would never know the level of change that took place in our lives.
What if we could measure our faith? What if it was possible to show a tangible measurement of our faith? How would we measure up? Would it be exciting like when I surpassed my brother in height, or would it be depressing, like every time I step on the scale (before kicking them across the floor!) 
In reality our faith is measurable. It is measured, by the measuring tape eyes of others! The saved and the unsaved alike examine our lives very critically to see how we are going to react to life's circumstances. How can we reach heights of faith that others can look up to?
Let's take a moment to examine the structure of a tree. We can all see the visible growth of tree. Who hasn't walked to the base of some giant tree and thought, "man, that's tall!" We need to realize something about that tree, before it could ever reach the heights that it has reached it had to first reach a greater volume of depth! When a seed is planted, it first takes root before it pops through the ground. As the roots penetrate the ground further and further, collecting a vast amounts of minerals and nutrients, it can then begin to show proof of its growth at the surface.
So if our faith is the visible part of our spiritual tree, then what is the roots? It's this Pastor's belief that the roots of our spiritual tree is our "Trust in God". Without the foundation of trust we can never reach the heights of our faith. We often take these two words and make them one meaning but that cannot be. Merriam-Webster's Dictionary defines faith as: strong belief or trust in someone or something. Trust is in the definition of Faith. They work together, they are not the same. Trust is defined as: the belief that someone or something is reliable, good, honest, effective, etc. Faith is reliant on trust by definition, and by definition trust is reliant on a person, or God.
By increasing our trust in God we increase the level of faith that we exhibit to others. The Bible has much to say about both of these to words, let's take a look of one of my favorite set of verses concerning Trust.  Proverbs 3:5-6 says, "Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all they ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths." The problem of having limited faith is usually equivocated by limiting our trust in the Lord, through leaning on our own understanding. This indicates that we are not living a GOD-reliant life, but rather we are living a SELF-reliant life! If we are self-reliant then we will not allow God to direct our path. How do we become more God-reliant in our lives? 
To increase or faith, God often has to shake us at our very foundation. He has to pull the hedge back a little and allow us to be tempted and tried. You see everything that we go through here on earth is for a purpose. The bible says in Romans 8:28, "And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose." We need to understand that we are called into these temptations and trials to ultimately fulfill His purpose. This brings us to the question, "what is His purpose for this trial I am going through?" Paul explains it in the very next verse. Romans 8:29 says, "For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren." We are to be more like Him! 
The more that we learn to trust the Lord the more that we become like Him! By being more like Him our faith is increased. When our faith is increased we will be able to say to the spiritual mountains that stand in our path, "be thou removed,"  and they will be removed. We also will become the "firstborn among many brethren." Remember when we spoke about those people that examine our lives? If we trust God to the point that it exhibits our faith in God to accomplish our needs, then those people will also trust in the Lord and plant the seed of faith in their own lives. 
Let's get out a personal spiritual tape measure. How does our faith measure up? Do we trust God? Can others see God through us? Our desire should not be to stand tall for ourselves but it should be to stand tall for the Lord!

Pastor Corey C. Bradley