By Faith
Faith is defined as the certainty of things hoped for, a proof of things not seen (Hebrews 11:1). We believe that certain places or people exist although we’ve never been there or met that person. We rely on trustworthy information that has convinced us that those places or people are real. Our faith is developed from the true word of God (Romans 10:17) and through practice it continues to grow for the rest of our lives. (Luke 17:6) They say that “seeing is believing” and Thomas had to touch the nail scarred hands of Jesus before he would believe that the Christ was alive. Yet Jesus told him that we are blessed because we believe without having seen Him (John 20:29).
It is by and through faith by which we access the wonderful gift of God’s grace and salvation, thus we are motivated to do good works and continue in them for a lifetime (Ephesians 2:8-10; Revelation 2:10). To fail to do so results in a useless faith (James 2:17-18) and without faith there is no way to please our Heavenly Father (Hebrews 11:6). Hebrews 10:38 says, “Now the just shall live by faith”, meaning faithfulness is a way of life. Continued trust and faith in God through Christ can and will keep us on the narrow road to our heavenly home.
Jay Launius
2021
Maud church of Christ
Maud, Texas