Finally, I have completed the chapter of faith. As I look back, there are dead faith, impossible faith and fearful faith; there are also obeying and doing faith, blessing and worshipping faith, and a future faith. I am stunned by my statement of faith, as it is no ordinary faith for me to be the people of faith. As I look at my scarlet faith, I have more faith until I receive the perfect faith!
All these amounts to a great cloud of witnesses describe in Hebrews 12:1. These are not only people, but these are the people who carried the stories of faith, the stories of God’s faithfulness. And all these stories point us toward the author and perfecter of faith, Jesus Christ our Lord (v2).
It seems very idealistic and theoretical. But in reality, faith is to live out with much struggles, opposition and temptation. In reality, faith is always being tempted. In reality, faith is always challenged, faith is always tested.
Faith needs me to act in love, the love of Christ. I remember, I was utterly discouraged by my struggle and lack of faith. I was visiting someone at a government hospital. It was a six beds ward. Besides the person I was visiting, there laid an old and sickly lady, and apparently she was not very alert to her surrounding. This old lady somehow accidentally spilled a bowl of sweet and sticky stuff on the flour. No body came to her help, no body came to ask what she wanted; all that the nurse did was to clean up the flour and ask that old lady to lie down.
There was a surge of compassion within me. I thought to myself, I should go over to give that old lady some assistance. But as I looked around, my sense of courage died; and I began to reason within my heart (sounded like the rich fool in Luke 12) that it might not be appropriate for me to go over to help her. I was struggling within me, I didn’t have the faith that if I went over, I would be able to bring about God’s love to her. I waited and didn’t do anything.
Then, I saw another young lady patient, staying next to that old lady, she got out of her bed in pain, went over to that old lady; asked her what she needed. After knowing that old lady wanted to clean her hands, the young lady took out her wet tissues and sat by that old lady bed, gently cleaned up every finger of hers. No body noticed what that young lady did, but I noticed. My heart was pierced deeply by the rebuke of my lack of faith to bring the love of Christ to that lonely, sickly old lady. I was the beauty of that young lady. It was not her figures or her features or even her face, she was simply another sickly young lady patient in the hospital. But I saw the beauty of one who loves, one who cares and one who gives of herself even though she was in pain.
How about you? People are watching you, you have a cloud of witnesses, you have people of faith cheering you to act in faith; but are you acting in faith and in love? Have you lately missed an opportunity to demonstrate God’s love in faith? I have, I hope you don’t. I hope you will persevere in your struggles and trials. Do not grow weary in doing good, and do not lose heart in faith.
HHS…
All these amounts to a great cloud of witnesses describe in Hebrews 12:1. These are not only people, but these are the people who carried the stories of faith, the stories of God’s faithfulness. And all these stories point us toward the author and perfecter of faith, Jesus Christ our Lord (v2).
It seems very idealistic and theoretical. But in reality, faith is to live out with much struggles, opposition and temptation. In reality, faith is always being tempted. In reality, faith is always challenged, faith is always tested.
Faith needs me to act in love, the love of Christ. I remember, I was utterly discouraged by my struggle and lack of faith. I was visiting someone at a government hospital. It was a six beds ward. Besides the person I was visiting, there laid an old and sickly lady, and apparently she was not very alert to her surrounding. This old lady somehow accidentally spilled a bowl of sweet and sticky stuff on the flour. No body came to her help, no body came to ask what she wanted; all that the nurse did was to clean up the flour and ask that old lady to lie down.
There was a surge of compassion within me. I thought to myself, I should go over to give that old lady some assistance. But as I looked around, my sense of courage died; and I began to reason within my heart (sounded like the rich fool in Luke 12) that it might not be appropriate for me to go over to help her. I was struggling within me, I didn’t have the faith that if I went over, I would be able to bring about God’s love to her. I waited and didn’t do anything.
Then, I saw another young lady patient, staying next to that old lady, she got out of her bed in pain, went over to that old lady; asked her what she needed. After knowing that old lady wanted to clean her hands, the young lady took out her wet tissues and sat by that old lady bed, gently cleaned up every finger of hers. No body noticed what that young lady did, but I noticed. My heart was pierced deeply by the rebuke of my lack of faith to bring the love of Christ to that lonely, sickly old lady. I was the beauty of that young lady. It was not her figures or her features or even her face, she was simply another sickly young lady patient in the hospital. But I saw the beauty of one who loves, one who cares and one who gives of herself even though she was in pain.
How about you? People are watching you, you have a cloud of witnesses, you have people of faith cheering you to act in faith; but are you acting in faith and in love? Have you lately missed an opportunity to demonstrate God’s love in faith? I have, I hope you don’t. I hope you will persevere in your struggles and trials. Do not grow weary in doing good, and do not lose heart in faith.
HHS…
Abel…
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