“Everything is possible for him who believes,” Jesus said (Mark 9:23, NIV). Think about how powerful this truth is. Even during biblical times, there were people who met Jesus who did not receive from Him what they asked for because they failed to believe. Hence, it behooves us to commit ourselves to growing in our faith in God.
On the other hand, we must be careful to not take one thing or one truth too far. Yes, it is true that “everything is possible for him who believes,” as Jesus says, but….
What’s the rest of the story? It is that if you take the aforementioned words of Jesus without regard for other related truths in the Bible, you may be led to believe that this one verse is all you need to embrace to receive from God whatsoever it is that you need from Him.
But consider this verse penned by Paul the apostle: “If I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing” (1 Corinthians 13:2b, NIV). Wow! This is another stunning verse on the subject of faith. Note, this verse does not say that a person cannot have faith without love. In fact, it presents the scenario of being able to move mountains through faith without love. But more importantly, this verse reveals that if we have such strong faith in God that we can accomplish awesome things through Christ, it means nothing to God if we fail to walk in love!
To me, the important take away here is that God is far more interested in how we do what we do for Him than He is in what we do for Him. His requirement for us to walk in love trumps His requirement for us to live by faith.
Jesus Christ is our perfect example. He modeled the life we should live. He always trusted the Father. Everything He did during His public ministry was done through faith in the Father. But equally important, Christ’s faith in God was always accompanied by His compassion. Several times in the Bible, it is stated that Jesus was moved with compassion.
So He taught us that we should have faith in God. Christianity is characterized by a lifestyle based on faith in God. It pleases Him when we come to Him in childlike faith. He wants to answer our prayers and grant us our every petition. But more important than all of this, He wants us to emulate the character of Christ.
Copyright © 2012 by Frank King. All rights reserved.
On the other hand, we must be careful to not take one thing or one truth too far. Yes, it is true that “everything is possible for him who believes,” as Jesus says, but….
What’s the rest of the story? It is that if you take the aforementioned words of Jesus without regard for other related truths in the Bible, you may be led to believe that this one verse is all you need to embrace to receive from God whatsoever it is that you need from Him.
But consider this verse penned by Paul the apostle: “If I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing” (1 Corinthians 13:2b, NIV). Wow! This is another stunning verse on the subject of faith. Note, this verse does not say that a person cannot have faith without love. In fact, it presents the scenario of being able to move mountains through faith without love. But more importantly, this verse reveals that if we have such strong faith in God that we can accomplish awesome things through Christ, it means nothing to God if we fail to walk in love!
To me, the important take away here is that God is far more interested in how we do what we do for Him than He is in what we do for Him. His requirement for us to walk in love trumps His requirement for us to live by faith.
Jesus Christ is our perfect example. He modeled the life we should live. He always trusted the Father. Everything He did during His public ministry was done through faith in the Father. But equally important, Christ’s faith in God was always accompanied by His compassion. Several times in the Bible, it is stated that Jesus was moved with compassion.
So He taught us that we should have faith in God. Christianity is characterized by a lifestyle based on faith in God. It pleases Him when we come to Him in childlike faith. He wants to answer our prayers and grant us our every petition. But more important than all of this, He wants us to emulate the character of Christ.
Copyright © 2012 by Frank King. All rights reserved.
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