Daily Faith

“Of all the gifts God gives us, surely the most precious is the gift of time.  Seconds, minutes, years are all life-parts, assembled and ready for our use in his service.  The sand of our lives is running through the hourglass -- fast, steady, precious.  It is so precious that when we give it back to God, it sets the angels at alleluias.  Yet we cannot give our entire lives to God at one time and have it done with for all time.  We must surrender second by second” (Calvin Miller, Disciplined Life).

Imagine for a moment that a group of terrorists storm into the building where your church family is assembled one Sunday morning.  They line you and all of the other Christians up along a wall of the auditorium and demand that you renounce your faith in Christ or be put to death.  With a rifle aimed at your head, what would you do?  One big decision of faith.  One chance to make or break it.  Would faith triumph over fear?  Perhaps it would be tougher than you may think.

But as difficult as it may be to be faithful in the one big moment, I suspect it takes even more courage to face the day-to-day grind of being faithful to Christ -- the “surrender second by second” as Miller puts it.  The Christian faces numerous situations each day that require decisions that either affirm our faith or deny our faith in Christ.  Will I speak truthfully or tell a life?  Will I forgive or hold a grudge?  Will I keep a confidence or spread gossip?  Will I seek unity or be divisive?  The list of daily choices of faith we make is endless.  And just  because a gun isn’t pointed at our heads doesn’t make them any less important.  If anything, the lack of an immediate consequence or threat could make it even more difficult over the long haul than in the do-or-die situations.

Could that be why Jesus calls us to take up our cross DAILY and follow HIm (Luke 9:23)?

God loves you!

Mike