Active faith has power to inform

For the past several months I’ve been rediscovering treasured possessions, precious things I had squirreled away and forgotten.

It’s the kind of thing that happens to most of us when we move into a different house, which my wife and I did last fall.

As I’ve unpacked and settled in, I’ve come across wonderful things long ago hidden away in dusty boxes: Daughter Sarah’s handmade birthday cards. Fishing gear favored by son Jacob on summer excursions.

For many Christians, the preciousness of faith is like those temporal treasures I’ve been rediscovering. Their faith is kept on the back shelf someplace, all-but forgotten. It is still there, someplace, but not really enjoyed; passive, not active.

And when faith is merely kept in heart storage, it ceases to inform our lives.

I know this because I’ve experienced it.

Does the month of January kindle in your heart a desire for a fresh start? How can we take our faith in Jesus Christ off the back shelf and truly possess it as the treasure it is?

A first step might involve another treasure that needs to be dusted off – your Bible.

Get back into the word of God and meditate on scripture often.

A man named Jeremiah once did this and described the result this way: “… Your word was to me the joy and rejoicing of my heart …” (Jeremiah 15:16).

Can you imagine having a meaningful friendship with a person whose words you never listened to? It’s not possible.

Yet many professing Christians do this – neglecting to hear God’s powerful and personal voice through scripture, and then wondering why their faith feels flat, disconnected from real life.

A word of caution here: Reading and meditating on the word of God will not happen unless we establish it as a routine. Choose a time of day, a quiet place, and a specific plan for reading if you want this to become a meaningful discipline in your life.

Another vital step toward an active faith is prayer. Prayer is simply talking to God.

Most of us pray when we really want something. Many of us pray out of habit for certain occasions, like saying grace before a meal. Those prayers can be important, but they’re not really what I’m thinking about in terms of stepping toward an active faith.

We’re helped tremendously when we pray for relationship’s sake, not merely to get something. Just as conversation with a dear friend is intimate and enjoyable, so too is prayer.

We may do well to pray that God would bless us with a desire for him. That we would not go days, weeks, even months without hungering for him. After all, that’s how faith gets placed on the back shelf of our lives in the first place – a lack of desire for God.

We can pray that we will “taste and see that the LORD is good,” as David writes in Psalm 34.

Let me mention just one more step toward a more active faith this year: Get back into fellowship with other people who love Jesus.

Faith is a paradox in that it is intensely private – between you and God – and yet very much corporate. We are not intended to believe in and live for God alone, but in deep association with other disciples.

Don’t believe the lie that you’ve no need for other Christians. You’re a member of a spiritual family and, like any family, the church will nurture you, challenge you, and give you opportunities to serve God by loving others.

Do you long to rediscover the treasure of your faith this year? It’s been there all along.

Why not reach for it?