Faith is not a
matter of getting what we want from God.
It's a matter of whether (we trust that) God is reliable enough to see us through even
those times when we do not get what we want. The challenge of faith is not
whether Jesus favors us with personal miracles. The challenge of faith is
whether Jesus' presence in us and ours in him, in life and in death, is
sufficient to draw us to God forever.
In much
the same way the church bears witness by remaining faithful to the Gospel
through thick and through thin. Dietrich
Bonhöeffer, the Lutheran martyr, once said that when Christians face a crisis,
their most frequent question is, "How can I successfully extricate myself
from this situation?" But that is
wrong, he said. The faithful question for Christians to ask is "What does
God require of me in this situation?" To ask the faithful question is to
surrender our personal goals, perhaps even our own life as we have come to know
it. To ask the faithful question is to allow ourselves to be cast into the
ground and to lose your life for the sake of the Gospel.
Since the beginning of Lent I have witnessed many situations that have brought the question "What Does God require of me in this situation.?" Life has a way of taking us to the brink of our ability to effect any change in what is going on. We reach those times when we tell ourselves "that's all that can be done." It may be medical, emotional, or legal. It could be relational or physical.
What areas of life have taught you about your limitations? When have you faced a hope or desire that reveals the chasm between what is humanly possible and your prayer for the future?
Only faith can bridge that chasm. Faith provides and illuminates the path from what you can do on your own to what God can do for, with and through you.
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