Words to Ponder... Faith is a reality for all people...The Morrow Mirror...July 14, 2013

Words to Ponder… Faith is a reality for all people…The Morrow Mirror…July 14, 2013

Everyone has faith in something: in God, in self, in others, in money, or in material things. The question is not 'do we have faith', but where does our faith truly lie? Christians as well as a few other faiths say it is God in whom they have faith. Yet words spoken are meaningless if they do not come from the heart.  If the heart does not own the words the words are like seeds that fall on rocky soil, they die in the sun!  As we travel this path of faith we need to ask ourselves whether we truly mean what we say (are we living out the words we speak)?  If we are honest with ourselves we will sometimes answer 'no' to these questions, because there are times when we trust self and give little thought to God.

I doubt if anyone who denies the existence of God will read this, so I am writing for those of us who say we believe in God, a God who desires to be in relationship with each of us.  I believe God created all people with a desire to seek God.  Even those who do not understand or believe in God have a passion to know God.  A baby does not know she needs milk only that she is hungry.

As Christians we all hunger for God, we want a relationship with God, but we do not necessarily know what a relationship with God looks or feels like.  Some of us may even believe God is too big for us to be in relationship with; yet it is not only God’s desire, it is why we were created.

In Ephesians 4:10-13 Paul wrote, “So the one who came down is the same one who went up, above and beyond the heavens, to fill the whole universe with his presence. It was he who ‘gave gifts’; he appointed some to be apostles, others to be prophets, others to be evangelists, others to be pastors and teachers. He did this to prepare all God’s people for the work of Christian service, in order to build up the body of Christ. And so we shall all come together to that oneness in our faith…” one in Christ Jesus, one with God and one as the Body of Christ.

The church, the Body of Christ is a ‘Means of Grace’ given by Christ as a means for God’s people to grow in relationship with God and God’s people, that oneness in our faith.  A ‘oneness’ that helps us grow spiritually as children of God.

Words to Ponder...In Christian Love, your pastor and friend in Christ Dr. Ed Judy