The baby steps of Faith

I have been enjoying my first real read of the Gospels. Funny, I have been a Christian my whole life but never really read much of the bible. Instead, like most Christians, I assumed the only good parts of the bible were taught by my pastors and Sunday school teachers. Boy was I wrong.

A perfect example. In Matthew 17:14-20 the disciples were frustrated because they could not heal a boy aflicted with seizures. Jesus replied, "You didn't have enough faith," that if they had the faith as small as a mustard seed they could move mountains.

So I got to thinking about faith. What kind of faith does it take to heal the sick, or move mountains for that matter? Is it the same faith one has when dealing with a personal challenge, having faith that "things will work out, it is in the hands of God." Is that enough?

Then God chimed in...yes, I was on to something. There was more... The faith Jesus was referring to was more encompassing in your life. Every time you face a fear, especially the little everyday fears, you make a choice of faith. You may not think of it as an act of faith but overcoming fear takes faith no matter how small the risk. Social situations, moral decisions, addiction, simply going against your 'gut' instinct.

The way we handle these seemingly little daily challenges define our character and our faith. Each time we give in to our fears we knock our faith down a notch, as if to say "I don't trust my options or my gut-feelings, so I will pick the path that best satisfies my needs and desires.

Imagine what your life would be like if you made one choice by faith each day, each week, and made it a habit. Take baby steps towards a life of total faith. Imagine what you could do to change the world with the faith of a single mustard seed.

Imagine...

David