by Moody MacGregor

Created on: May 30, 2009   Last Updated: June 04, 2009

To grow in faith is to grow in trust. To grow in faith is to grow in understanding, loyalty and faithfulness. Faith is more than mere belief. We often believe what we are taught, without actually having faith in what we believe. Our children believe the fairy stories we tell them when they are young. As they grow in understanding of life and of the world around them, their belief in such stories fades and they look for foundations that they can rely on. Stories and fantasies are no longer the bedrock of their world view but become in the very least forms of entertainment, or at the most vessels to carry an important lesson or truth.

The follower of Christ who spends time away from the corporate body of the church is often referred to as being in the wilderness, or in the world. This may be so but it is certainly no reason for the person's faith to decrease, in fact the faith found in a person outside a church is often strong and unshakable. It doesn't always appear to be so to the casual observer who judges faith on what they see on the outside of a person.

It is the inner strength of faith that carries a believer through the trials and tests experienced, and that gives them the power to forgive and love in an often hostile world. They live in a world where empty stories and doctrines drop dead, and they must seek and live out the deepest truths of the Gospels. It is fatal to set foot on a shaky foundation, when hostile winds are blowing. Like a tree that has been taken from the nursery and planted out on the hillside, they must put down deep roots and find the water and nutrients or they will perish. They are shaped on the exterior by the winds that blow and harshness of the climate, but as long as the heart is strong and true and the roots are tapped into the river of life, faith like the tree will grow.

The church goer may be inspired and encouraged by being a part of an active faith community, but the believer outside the church must find God in the world, or their faith will wither. They must find that life reflects what they read in the scriptures and that the teachings of Jesus are relevant and true.

When a follower of Jesus who has complete trust in God and in the teachings of the Gospel, lives their faith outside of the institutional church, it is a powerful and beautiful thing to people who are sceptical of religion. The believer must try to put others first, to be a servant to those around them, to forgive those that have hurt them, to love,

• 1
• 2
• Next Page >>