by Once while I was at the university during one of our Sunday meetings, a preacher uttered words that
have come to mean more to me in my walk with Christ.
He said that being saved was not the end of the matter, else we would all fly to heaven the instance we
accepted Christ as savior.
He reminded us that there was growing into Christlikeness and there was work to be done.
I remember chuckling at the thought of flying through the roof at the tender age of eight, which was
when I accepted Christ. Come to think of it, it would not have been such a bad idea, if I knew then some
of the trials and tests that I would go through as part of growth!
When we get saved, we tend to teeter between two dangerous extremes if we do not keep growing.
There are those who take salvation as a sure ticket to heaven that they tuck safely away to await the
trumpet call. Meanwhile, they go about to live their lives without the help of the Holy Spirit.
Some use their ‘freedom to indulge in the flesh’ as Paul called them out long ago, engaging in every
imaginable sin.
Some worry and live a life filled with anxiety when Jesus expressly directs us not to worry about our
lives.
Many ‘eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.’
Others have fallen prey to charlatans and con artists who promise ‘instant’ miracles of healings, job
opportunities, love, education and all forms of worldly progress.
The other extreme are those who want to fly to heaven. When they get a glimpse of the suffering and
sin in this world, they decide that they want nothing to do with it. They become adept at finding the
enemy and his demons in every symbol and sign. They withdraw from others and isolate themselves,
following rigorous practices in an attempt to rid themselves of all worldliness. In their pursuit of false
piety, they become judgmental, concerned increasingly with outward rituals rather than inward change.
Those who are dangerously disillusioned join cults where their need for escape is catered to, usually
unfortunately, in the form of self harm and mass suicides or murder.
If we are honest, we at one time or another find ourselves wavering between these two extremes. Our
reactions to life’s circumstances can lead us to seek compromise or escape. However, that is not the life
that God has called us to. We are called to a journey of faith without which, ‘it is impossible to please
God.’
This journey requires that we trust God, that He is who He says He is and that He will do what He says
He will do no matter what circumstances look like. ‘We live by faith not by sight.’
It begins when God calls you to a relationship with Him through Jesus Christ and ‘If you declare with
your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be
saved.’ From then on you receive the seal of the promised Holy Spirit who ‘will guide you into all the
truth’.
Knowing the Father
The only way to prevent us from falling on the two extreme sides of this faith journey is to spend time
knowing the one who has called us. If you have invested some amount of time getting to know a loved
one, it will be pretty hard for someone to maliciously drive a wedge between the two of you. That is
how it should be on this journey.
Though God’s ways and thoughts are far beyond ours, He has revealed Himself in His word. Jesus came
that we ‘may have life, and have it to the full.’ That is the picture of a whole human being thriving in the
midst of the tests and trials of this world, filled with the love and joy of the Lord. That is the image of a
believer who is the light of the world and the salt of the earth, a city set on a high hill that cannot be
hidden.
They are ‘a tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in season, and whose leaf does not
whither; whatever they do prospers.’
They don’t go about forlornly, weighed down by the cares of this world, straining their eyes heavenly
toward a sweet by and by (even though they long for it) but neither do they live like the ungodly! That is
a victorious believer trusting in God and living a transformed life.
The life of such a Christian shines brightly in the darkness and men see their good works and glorify their
Father in Heaven. That light is not limited to Saturday or Sunday gatherings but radiates in the family
circle, at the work place and at play. And when that light draws men towards it; the believer has the
opportunity each time to fulfill Jesus’ mandate that He gave to His disciples and to all of us who believe,
‘Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son
and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.’
The life of this believer allows them to be used as God’s noble vessel, using whatever gift they ‘have
received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms.’
Below par lives
It somewhat knocks the wind out of you when you think about it! How can you be all that? How can you
move so powerfully and impact others as a believer?
The truth is most of us have lived or live way below the good plans God has for us because we don’t
know Him. And when you don’t know a person, you can’t trust them.
If you don’t trust God fully you can’t surrender to Him. Instead you become susceptible to being ‘tossed
back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning
and craftiness of people in their deceitful scheming.’
But what if you begin today a journey of knowing the God who loves you? What if you get to know what
He says about you and the issue you face, and His promises for you? Can you imagine what that would
like? It will be, more and more in your life as He promised, ‘Everything is possible for one who believes’.
You will get to experience the life transforming power of the Holy Spirit working in and through you.
To know God is to know His living and active Word that is ‘God-breathed and is useful for teaching,
rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly
equipped for every good work.’ That is where it begins, in His Word.
(Galatians 5:13-21, Matthew 6:25-24, 1 Timothy 6:10, Hebrews 11:6, 2 Cor 5:7, Romans 10:9, john
16:13, Isiah 55:8-9, John 10:10, Matthew 5:13-16, Psalm 1:3, Matthew 28:19, 1 Peter 4:10-11, Jeremiah
29:11, Ephesians 4:14, Mark 9:23, Hebrews 4:12, 2 Timothy 3:16-17)- Passages directly quoted or
paraphrased from the NIV Bible.
