12 Days of Christmas: Day Eight
"No one can serve two masters. For you will hate one and love the other; you will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money. That is why I tell you not to worry about everyday life--whether you have enough food and drink, or enough clothes to wear. Isn't life more than food, and your body more than clothing?...Can all your worries add a single moment to your life?...Why do you have so little faith?" Matthew 6:24-25, 27, 30
Nestled between His teaching on loving, giving, prayer, and receiving, Jesus talks about faith. Faith is basically the transition point between knowing what is good and doing what is good; Or knowing what God has promised and believing what He has promised. The writer of Hebrews said, It is impossible to please God without faith. Anyone who wants to come to him must believe that God exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him. (Heb. 11:6)
God gives perfect gifts to help us when we encounter the imperfect. One of these gifts is faith. The word 'faithfulness' is used in many translations of Galatians 5:22 where Paul talks about the Fruit of the Spirit. In the English language, 'faithfulness' generally refers to loyalty. But the Greek word for 'faithfulness' and 'faith' is the same. As the King James Version says, 'The Fruit of the Spirit is...faith.' I like that because it means God helps me to have faith at any given moment in any situation, not just an ongoing commitment to Him, what I believe, or to others I am in relationship with. Faith is not something I manufacture on my own any more than love or patience or goodness; All of these qualities are born in me through the Spirit. He alone can make me 'full of faith'. (A less thought-of definition of the word 'faithfulness'.)
How often are the choices we make regarding loving others and giving to others related to money? How often are our desperate prayers related to our finances? How often do we judge the quality of our life by the amount of things we have accumulated or how much "cushion" we have in our bank accounts? How often do we allow worry over money to control us instead of living in the Spirit and exercising faith? And how often do we wish we had more faith but we simply don't?
When we have faith, this is pleasing to God because He wants what is best for us. He knows we will be blessed by our faith--less worry, less stress, less striving. Faith is a gift from our loving Father, but we must receive it. We must trust Him, and He gives us opportunities to do that: when our bank accounts are low, when our spirits are poor, and when we are aware of the needs of others. What we see as problems, God sees as an opportunity to give us more faith.
"Why do you have so little faith?" I wonder what answer Jesus was looking for? Why did they have so little faith? They were God's chosen people. Didn't they know the ancient stories of God rescuing their ancestors from slavery in Egypt and leading them to the Promised Land? Didn't they know the stories of those who had great faith, like Daniel who emerged from the lion's den unharmed? Didn't they know God had promised to send them a Messiah, and here He was speaking to them?
They knew, but did they believe? Why not? Had they experienced God's faithfulness for themselves? Ah, maybe that was it: they hadn't, or they had but didn't see it as God's provision because they were so busy trying to care for themselves.
When we have the mentality we must provide for ourselves materially, we will also have the mentality we must provide for ourselves spiritually. And if I try to have faith on my own, I miss the point of faith. Faith is about depending on God. So I need to depend on Him for it.
Perhaps this Christmas you need to make a spiritual wish-list. What do you need Jesus to give you? More belief in His love? More love for others? More faith? This one is going on my list: Give me faith, Jesus. And help me to receive it.
"If you know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give good gifts to those who ask him." (Matt. 7:11)
"No one can serve two masters. For you will hate one and love the other; you will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money. That is why I tell you not to worry about everyday life--whether you have enough food and drink, or enough clothes to wear. Isn't life more than food, and your body more than clothing?...Can all your worries add a single moment to your life?...Why do you have so little faith?" Matthew 6:24-25, 27, 30
Nestled between His teaching on loving, giving, prayer, and receiving, Jesus talks about faith. Faith is basically the transition point between knowing what is good and doing what is good; Or knowing what God has promised and believing what He has promised. The writer of Hebrews said, It is impossible to please God without faith. Anyone who wants to come to him must believe that God exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him. (Heb. 11:6)
God gives perfect gifts to help us when we encounter the imperfect. One of these gifts is faith. The word 'faithfulness' is used in many translations of Galatians 5:22 where Paul talks about the Fruit of the Spirit. In the English language, 'faithfulness' generally refers to loyalty. But the Greek word for 'faithfulness' and 'faith' is the same. As the King James Version says, 'The Fruit of the Spirit is...faith.' I like that because it means God helps me to have faith at any given moment in any situation, not just an ongoing commitment to Him, what I believe, or to others I am in relationship with. Faith is not something I manufacture on my own any more than love or patience or goodness; All of these qualities are born in me through the Spirit. He alone can make me 'full of faith'. (A less thought-of definition of the word 'faithfulness'.)
How often are the choices we make regarding loving others and giving to others related to money? How often are our desperate prayers related to our finances? How often do we judge the quality of our life by the amount of things we have accumulated or how much "cushion" we have in our bank accounts? How often do we allow worry over money to control us instead of living in the Spirit and exercising faith? And how often do we wish we had more faith but we simply don't?
When we have faith, this is pleasing to God because He wants what is best for us. He knows we will be blessed by our faith--less worry, less stress, less striving. Faith is a gift from our loving Father, but we must receive it. We must trust Him, and He gives us opportunities to do that: when our bank accounts are low, when our spirits are poor, and when we are aware of the needs of others. What we see as problems, God sees as an opportunity to give us more faith.
"Why do you have so little faith?" I wonder what answer Jesus was looking for? Why did they have so little faith? They were God's chosen people. Didn't they know the ancient stories of God rescuing their ancestors from slavery in Egypt and leading them to the Promised Land? Didn't they know the stories of those who had great faith, like Daniel who emerged from the lion's den unharmed? Didn't they know God had promised to send them a Messiah, and here He was speaking to them?
They knew, but did they believe? Why not? Had they experienced God's faithfulness for themselves? Ah, maybe that was it: they hadn't, or they had but didn't see it as God's provision because they were so busy trying to care for themselves.
When we have the mentality we must provide for ourselves materially, we will also have the mentality we must provide for ourselves spiritually. And if I try to have faith on my own, I miss the point of faith. Faith is about depending on God. So I need to depend on Him for it.
Perhaps this Christmas you need to make a spiritual wish-list. What do you need Jesus to give you? More belief in His love? More love for others? More faith? This one is going on my list: Give me faith, Jesus. And help me to receive it.
"If you know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give good gifts to those who ask him." (Matt. 7:11)
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright ©1996, 2004, 2007 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
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