James 2:19 You believe that there is one God; you do well: the devils also believe, and tremble.
Faith is not just believing in God because as the opening scripture says, even demons believe. Think about it; Most of us, if not all, have never seen God but the devil has seen Him. So if the devil has seen God and yet doesn’t serve God’s purposes, what makes you think that faith is all about seeing or believing the existence of God alone? Trust me, satan knows God is All Powerful and there is none like God. He believes that but it doesn’t reflect in the way he behaves. Faith is not just a belief, there will be signs that reflect true faith. In other words, actions will follow faith and determine where a person’s faith truly lies.
Real faith will show in a person’s lifestyle, routine, behavior and associations.
It’s not just singing in church or playing an important role or having a position in that church. There will be reflectors of faith. To reflect something means to show an image of or to represent something. So if you have faith, there is an image you’ll project, there’s a way you’ll look and there’s a master whose Kingdom you’ll represent.
Before we come to some key reflectors of faith shortly, I noticed that there will be things you’ll learn in kindergarten that by the time you get to primary school, those things have an upgraded version. It’s not that what was taught in kindergarten was wrong, they just had to get down to the level of the child. And then by the time they get to high school, new formulas are added to solidify the base knowledge given in the past and then by university, another understanding altogether. This thing that happens in education in the physical world is similar in the spiritual world.
In our knowledge of God, there were times we were taught some nursery concepts and inasmuch as they were not entirely wrong, it was a partial knowledge that was shared and as we grow in our relationship with God, we solidify the base and deepen our knowledge and move on to a more wholistic approach of understanding things. So to say faith is believing is a partial knowledge. To say faith is about getting things from God is a partial knowledge.
A more wholistic approach to learning about faith is that faith will not only give us what we desire but also works hand in hand with what God also wants(His purpose). Another wholistic way of looking at faith is that with faith I may get what I desire but also because of my faith, there are things and people I will lose.
These are just examples of how to view concepts like faith in a broader sense.
Same thing for grace. We were told that grace is unmerited favor. It’s not entirely wrong but just a starting definition. This definition gives the idea of grace being something you didn’t work for or participate in. However as you grow in understanding the concept of grace, you learn that there is an aspect of grace that when you put in an effort makes a difference. So when Paul says; “Will I continue to sin that grace abounds“, he’s stating that even though grace is free and doesn’t involve my own works, I will need to put in an effort to quit what is not helpful. And when the Bible also says in 2 Peter 3:18; “But grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and for ever“, it means that even though there’s a part of grace that is unmerited and there is grace through Christ’s death and resurrection for me, I will need to grow even in that grace because the grace needed to overcome an addiction is not the same needed to overcome poverty. That’s why someone can be doing well in one area and lacking in another because in a wholistic approach to learning about grace you see that grace is also an enabling power to live like Christ not just unmerited favor.
Now, going back to the reflectors of faith, I just want to touch on 3 key things the Lord brought to my mind while I meditated. If you have faith in God, it will be evident majorly in these 3 things. There may be other things that show a person’s faith but these 3 will definitely connect to those other things.
Number 1; How you use your time – I came up with an acronym for time which is an excerpt here you can read and T was for trust. You will not give your time to anyone you don’t trust. If God is indeed priority in your life, then it will show in the things you do with time. Ephesians 5:15-17 See then that ye walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise, redeeming the time, because the days are evil. Wherefore be ye not unwise, but understanding what the will of the Lord is. By this scripture we see the will of the Lord which is His purpose and because faith is about reflecting or representing a Master, I need to live by His will and that is evidenced by my use of the time He has given me – redeeming the time.
Number 2; How you spend resources – Take it or leave it but how you spend resources like money and talent reveal where your faith is. Someone said review your spending in the past 6 months and you will see what has been taking most of your money – that is your priority. Have you noticed there are things you spend on easily without thinking about but when it comes to other things, it’s hard to give your money to that cause? It’s because your heart is not there. What is your relationship with money? Is money able to cause you to make a choice that is against God’s standards? These questions are worth asking because Romans 10:10a says; With the heart man believes so faith is a heart thing but guess what Matthew 6:21 says; For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also. Anytime the Bible mentions heart, it’s talking about man’s spirit. Treasure is what is valuable to you. Again in Matthew 4:24 we see God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth. So there is a connection between worship, your spirit(heart) and money(treasure) and with that you express faith in God.
Number 3; How you relate with others – Our relationships with others often times will be an offshoot of how we truly view God. If you see a person as created in the image of God, there are things you won’t say to them. When someone is living in a way that is contrary to God’s ways, a person who is truly of faith will not first have a response of gossiping about them but will intercede for that person. Matthew 12:30-31 Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength. The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no commandment greater than these. 1 John 4:20 If a man say, I love God, and hates his brother, he is a liar: for he that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, how can he love God whom he hath not seen? So faith will be seen in our friendships, marriage, parenting, workplace and every other relationship we have.
You’ll see that these 3 are evident in daily life and not just appearances for a church service. In our daily life, we use time, we relate with people and we spend money. This is how our faith relates to the world outside of church.
The Word In Clarity 