Living by faith means living each day with a sense of God’s presence and in the knowledge (the confidence) of God’s love. Living by faith does make a difference.
How does one “live each day with a sense of God’s presence?” Isn’t this is a matter of developing sensitivity to the reality of God, that reality greater than the ephemeral, material world around us. This is hard for some to realize, because the material world of the senses seems so apparent, so real. Yet we all, to some extent, have some sense of a greater reality permeating the material world. Some have so developed this sense that the reality of the spiritual seems more real to them than physical reality.
I say they “sense” that reality, but in fact it cannot be said to be knowledge through the senses. It is more a pre-sense of God’s presence – something before or apart from the knowledge of the senses. For some, this “sense” comes quietly and gradually, perhaps developed over many years of spiritual practice. To some it comes as a climacteric, changing their lives even to an astonishing degree. For some, it seems to be natural to all their living.
Living by faith is also living “in the knowledge or assurance of God’s love.” This confidence or assurance comes through my faith in Christ. There is a knowledge of the heart of God we can know only through the love shown us in Jesus. This is not to say that this love does not reach out to all people or that only Christians are “saved.” In fact, I believe that this love, this “grace” of God, means that we can stop worrying about our own salvation and simply get on with living life with a confidence in God’s loving presence – in joy and sorrow, health and disease, life and death.
It still matters of course whether we do good or evil. Surely what is good is what is good for us and for all God’s creation, and what is evil is that which destroys human happiness or the world God has given into our keeping. St. Augustine wrote, “Love God and do what you want to do.” Living by faith means that all we do will be to the glory of God’s love and in gratitude for all that we have been given.
Alan Reynolds
Author of A Troubled Faith
Looking for a place to feel inspired and challenged? Like to share a smile or a laugh? Interested in becoming more familiar with Canadian writers who have a Christian worldview? We are writers who live in different parts of Canada, see life from a variety of perspectives, and write in a number of genres. We share the goal of wanting to entertain and inspire you to be all you can be with God's help.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Popular Posts
-
Write Canada is more than a professional networking conference. It’s a safe place where beginning and intermediate writers can learn ...
-
Inspiration hardly strikes on an empty stomach. For this, and other reasons, writers must eat. And if you like minced beef (and you...
-
by Rev Ed Hird One of the best loved Christmas Carols is the 146-year-old carol: Good King Wenceslas. In 1853, John Mason Neale chose Wences...
-
By Rev. Dr. Ed & Janice Hird We hear a lot about essential workers and essential services in these COVID-19 times. At 7 pm each ...
-
There are many things I fear. Having a flat tire on a freeway. Or worse, having a flat tire at night. The result of this fear is that I avoi...
-
As an author, I take great pains to choose the right name for all my characters. Even the animals in my stories get the same careful deliber...
-
What a gorgeous day for a round of golf amidst a beautiful setting! The course, while close to town and nestled between several roads, is...
-
By Rev. Dr. Ed & Janice Hird Corrie ten Boom once said: “I’ve never had the joy of bringing to birth a child, but I’ve often had th...
-
Love and chocolate—I can’t think of a better reason to declare February 14 as an official winter holiday. For the moment, I’ll skip over div...
-
A phrase I do not remember hearing frequently, has surpized me in the last three days, at least twice, in totally unrelated con...
No comments:
Post a Comment