The Testing of Our Faith

I was doing some reading today about the Messiah, the One who would establish God's Kingdom on the earth, and I was struck by what the writer put forth; that Jesus was born to die.

Death was not a result of the Jews rejection of Him, it was understood from the beginning that Jesus would die. John the Baptist proclaimed, "Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world!". Without the sacrifice on the cross there would be no payment made for my sin; it was the reason He came, and everything else He did was to testify that He was who He said He was.

So why is it that I, having identified myself with Jesus, with the knowledge that it is my joy to share in His sufferings, still labor so vigorously to protect myself from anything resembling discomfort, persecution, trial and death?

Graham Cooke has a great teaching about living with our problems. In it he talks about how we typically respond to adversity; we pray! But it is not the type of prayer that I'm sure the Father finds pleasing. Why? Because we are begging Him to take away the very thing that He designed to strengthen our faith. (Remember..."count it all joy when you face trials..."). Graham describes it this way: You want me to get you OUT of it!? I just spent three years and $30,000 getting you INTO it!!

Trials are not legal proceedings intended to determine our guilt, they are tests designed to measure our worth. When you test something you are trying to determine it's value, character and fortitude. Will it last? Is of good quality? God is testing the purification process being administered by the Holy Spirit. How are we doing? How much work is yet to be done before we will be able to endure the great and terrible day of His coming and not shrink back?

God is determined to prepare a Bride who is without spot or wrinkle, and occasionally He will put our faith to the fire to see how that process is going. It's not the fire of punishment, it's the fire of our perfection.

Jesus passed His many tests with flying colors; the colors of flesh and blood. The question is, are we passing our own tests; or are we praying our way out of them?

I is my humble opinion that the average Christian prays most often, and most fervently, when faced with the gift of testing. Unfortunately, their focus is on asking to be exempt from such an examination instead of being prepared by it.

Jesus was born to die so that He would be glorified for eternity. Perhaps it's time to join Him in the pathway of glorification!

Bless you all today,

Jon