The Gift of Faith

 

But because of his great love of us God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions, – it is by grace you have been saved. Ephesians 2:5

It is part of my morning to time with God to write down ten blessings. It's a great way for me to start my day. On a good day when I wake up feeling just fine or better, it's an excellent reminder of why I have that contentment. On a bad day, when I feel challenged or ill, it's a way to switch my focus off of what isn't going well and onto the gifts I've been given.

This morning one of the things I wrote was, “the gift of faith.” Just seeing the words in print made me feel so, so blessed. Faith isn't something I set out to earn. It is a blessing. It is absolutely a gift.

I love to talk to people who are aware of that truth, the kind of people who recognize the truth of James 1:17, that every good and perfect gift comes from our Father in heaven. The look of joy in their eyes, the awe that comes from knowing that no matter how much we think we understand there is so much more than we know and best of all, the humility.

On the other hand, I am quite put off by people who claim a knowledge and love of God's grace but throw it out there as an achievement, as if their hard work and perseverance earned them a spot on God's team. Um, no.

Yesterday I was blessed to sit with a group of people who are not at all new to a life of faith but still have that childlike wonder that we are called to have. Listening to each one I wanted our somewhat limited time to never end. There is in that group, such a desire to share that faith, that wonder with other people.

That's another difference between people who recognize the truth that says our faith is a gift, they really want to share it. While the people who think it is something that they can earn want to keep it exclusive. It's not worth much if just anybody can have it, right? Wrong! Our faith is the most precious thing we will ever have, our relationship with Jesus, who was so gracious to come and die so that we could have faith, is a gift we need to share because in sharing it, it grows by leaps and bounds.

Faith is a gift, given by grace, which as I was taught years ago, could stand for, God's Riches At Christ's Expense. A free gift to us, bought at a price beyond our comprehension.