03/10/2023
Believing is not simply a passive understanding of the divine nature of God, faith isn’t a seed that grows in us without our thinking and moving towards Jesus who we can feel but is our unseen Savior, and prayer isn’t a mindless chant or babble that we do while sleepily lost in a trance. No. Believing is the active pursuit of seeing more clearly while truly understanding our God. Faith is purposefully living and walking towards an unseen spiritual destination and Jesus Christ. As for praying, it is a conversation with God; speaking, listening, and finally, trusting in a response from Him. All of these things require us to be active in our pursuit of the Lord, Jesus, and a righteous life. These activities are what we do as Christian’s while actively seeking God, and our Lord Jesus.
“And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.”
Hebrews 11:6 ESV
These are the actions of a pilgrim, a spiritual traveler, and a saint who desires a more engaged and righteous spiritual life. These are the steps we take as we pursue sanctity, holiness, and the eternal presence of God. So, let’s look at our ourselves and how we are leading our lives today. Are we active in our pursuit of God or simply resting with no motion towards Him, or little to no further desire to interact with Him, beyond where we are now? Are we complacent in our relationship and still standing where we were when we first believed?
“Seek the Lord and his strength; seek his presence continually!”
1 Chronicles 16:11 ESV
Marriages fade and eventually fail every day due to inactivity. Sometimes it is a lack of meaningful communication, sometimes it is a loss of touching and intimacy, often it is a lack of faith and trust, and many times it is simply not walking together towards a common goal or place in life. Whatever the reason it all boils down to inactivity, or complacency.
Ann and I have been married for almost 48 years, and I am asked over and over again what the secret is to a lasting Marriage. I have thought on this over the years and have accumulated a list of things. The list has grown as we have grown older, and changed the longer we have been together, but everything I have added has required action… just like our relationship with God.
One of the first things I tell someone is to talk to one another. Just like our prayers keep us within God’s will, our conversations with one another insure us that we are walking in the same direction. It is hard to advance in our faith if we are at odds with God’s will for us, and it is almost impossible for a couple to maintain a loving relationship if they are moving in different directions in their lives. Sooner or later they will be too far apart to even hear the shouting.
Then there is the faith, and faithfulness. These are active parts of every relationship. I tell them that they must trust one another and to always remain faithful in the face of temptation. Just as sin separates us from God, unfaithfulness separates us from one another. Once Adam and Eve were unfaithful God had to do something incredible to reestablish our relationship with Him, He sent His Son Jesus to redeem us. In our human relationships it is very similar. Once trust in another is lost it takes time, suffering, and hard work to reestablish it. It takes sacrifice, grace, and forgiveness, for us to overcome the pain of lies, betrayal, or whatever has come between us, and for the transgressor to prove that they can “go and sin no more”, to be trusted once again.
Most of all though I tell them that they should touch one another. God touches us, and we are meant to touch Him. Although sex is an important part of a marriage and satisfies our physical desire, the touching I am speaking of is even more intimate. I am talking about the overwhelming desire to simply come in contact with one another… touching our loved one’s skin with ours, and in our spirituality to feel the presence of God.
Touching in the Bible is powerful, we read of healing and redeeming one another by the laying on of hands, and the touch of Jesus that cleanses us of sin and removes our fear. There is also the act of making something holy just by touching it to the altar, and the power of God’s touch that we feel in so many other ways like His wiping away our tears, and the powerful human example of the woman who kissed and washed the feet of Jesus with her tears, then dried them with her hair.
“Then turning toward the woman he said to Simon, “Do you see this woman? I entered your house; you gave me no water for my feet, but she has wet my feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair. You gave me no kiss, but from the time I came in she has not ceased to kiss my feet. And he said to her, “Your sins are forgiven.””
Luke 7:44-45, 48 ESV
Touch is a powerful action in scripture and also in our human relationships. Holding hands, a kiss, a simple reassuring touch in an anxious moment, a loving caress, all of these and more cement our relationships. When my wife is frightened I feel her hand touching me, and when something wonderful is happening we reach out to touch each other as we share in that moment. Touch is more than important… it is imperative. Just as Jesus touched those around Him we are to actively touch each other.
So, believing, praying, and having faith are all spiritual verbs that imply action. The service and action in our relationship with God goes much deeper than the works we perform. These very basic, core, and foundational aspects of knowing the Father, Son, and the Holy Spirit are meant to be moving and alive in us! Is this how we approach Them? Is our relationship with God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit active and alive?
“But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.”
Matthew 6:33 ESV
Prayer:
Father, thank you for the active life of being in relationship with you. Thank you for the dynamic nature of our belief, faith, and prayer as we learn to love you more each day. Holy, Holy, Holy, are you our God who walks with us, leads us into new places of faith, and talks with us without ceasing. Praised be your name for every conversation we have, even those that are by touch alone. Merciful are you who answers our cries of fear with words of comfort, and tends our belief, faith, and relationship like a garden. Your grace lifts us up Lord, and we grasp hold of it desperately as we long to be in your presence forevermore. Wash us with the blood of Jesus, and dry us with your hair as you love us. Transform us in our belief and faith in Christ so that on the Day of Judgement you will see Him in our faces. Praised be your name as we bring glory to you, and our desire to know you grows stronger, forever and ever. In search of you we will never rest or become complacent in our efforts Lord.
Rich Forbes