The Result of Faith

I want to celebrate one of the most important results of my faith - and one that can make the difference for so many of us. I still remember the night when God's Spirit had confronted me with the fact of my sin and the direction my life was going. I remember that moment of withdrawal when God's Spirit took a step back and let me decide whether I would trust that the sacrifice Jesus made would suffice to forgive my sin and give me a new kind of life. It is pretty obvious that I chose Jesus. But the result of that faith - a faith that God Himself had given me, but that I had to choose to invest in Him - is that I am now aware of His presence in my life every day. I am working on my message for this Sunday, which looks at the question the Psalmist asked when he considered the vastness of the universe - "what is man that you are mindful of him?" I understand those who claim that the vastness of this universe argues against God caring about humanity, let alone an individual person like me. That is a very powerful emotional reaction. But that is all it is - an emotional reaction. I cannot explain why God should or would care about anyone, let alone me, let alone be present with me. But that does not change the fact that He is. My awareness is not proof of God's existence or that the Bible is God's revelation of Himself to humanity. But my trust of Him has allowed me to know these things. Does that constitute a "leap of faith?" Perhaps. I do believe that there is adequate proof for the existence of God and for the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. Those two things, I believe, provide an adequate starting place for trusting God. But the best part - personal knowledge of His presence - that comes after I have chosen to trust. I can only suggest that others try it as well. I am not saying that everyone who trusts God's love in Jesus Christ will always be aware of His presence. That is not how God has chosen to make it work. But there are times when I am overwhelmed with the sweetness of His presence. And that is worth more than I can say! As the old commercial used to say, "Try it, you'll like it!"

Pastor Ken