Faith is a GIFT
I had the privilage of hearing a very good point on this verse in a fresh way. An awesome preacher-in-the-making [who just happens to be a freshman] said that faith is a GIFT. In today's world, we tend to push our faith aside or hide it and not show it or grow in it or act on / in it the way we should. We take faith a little bit for granted--and we simply can't do that if we are pursuing TRUE, LIVING FAITH.
We need to have VISIBLE faith as well asd CONSISTANT faith. We tend to see a miracle or have an expirience when we say "God IS real. I believe." but the next day we are do whatever--and not being consistant with our faith.
What do we get from faith? FULLNESS. Without faith in God we have no purpose, goal, or fullness. With God, the glass is ALWAYS half full--or to quote the guy who preached this,
"the glass is completly full--with God, it can be 3 glasses, or a bunch of glasses. It doesn't matter! Anything is possible with God. [...] Faith is a GIFT. If we don't want faith, we won't get it. If we don't want a relationship with God, we won't have it. I know we hear that 'you have to want a relationship with God' all the time, but its TRUE. If we don't WANT it with all we are inside and everything, we won't get it. We have to GROW in our relationship. We have to pursue it. We have to, or we won't have it. It won't be given to us."
Since he was speaking to our youth group, he went on to say
"We are teenagers. We can't take our faith for granted! We have to go for it and grow NOW. I started to grow in my relationship with God [...] and now I'm up here [on stage]. I don't know where I'd be right now. Certaintly not up here. I wouldn't have met my best friend in the world or all the amazing people I've met or gotten more involved in church or done things if I hadn't started to grow my faith."
He was telling us that we can't wait until we are older or more "prepared" to walk with God--we have to do it NOW. We have to want it with everything we are and not be afraid to show it.
"For by grace you have been save by faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the GIFT of God."
He closed with that verse and walked off-stage to a round of applause from his fellow youth group. All he had done was follow out his faith and he affected not just our youth group, but everyone that each student he spoke to will go out and affect by the influence of his talk. I think we should all ask ourselves if God would be applauding our choices that we make in our faith--to live it loud or hide it. We should all aim for "applause"--after hearing this guy, I know that I certaintly will.
Created over 1 year ago
