Faith is Life

Recently I've been working my way through the book of Matthew, looking closely and studying the life of Jesus.  In Rhetoric class, I have really noticed how Jesus lived a life that shocked the world.  Not only did it shock the world, but it also shone through the darkness of that day and attracted crowds and crowds of lost people.  Lost sheep who needed a shepherd.  People are attracted to and/or repulsed by light.  It is no different for Christianity.

If you are a Christian, a Christ follower, then it must flood every part of your life.  Our call is perfection. That should be every Christian's goal.  But wait, you exclaim, perfection is impossible!  Exactly.  Trying to lead a perfect life is impossible, and that is why Christ lived the perfect life for us.  He did it so that He would be the one interceding for us continually in the courts of Heaven.

On the retreat I attended a week ago, we discussed slothfulness.  And how that sin (and every sin, really) doesn't just affect one area, it bleeds into every other vein of life.  Say, you procrastinate in a subject that is just not fun, and then it possibly could extend to other subjects in school until it rules the way you do school. Your procrastination affects how productive you are at getting your homework done, and soon it keeps you from doing the things you want to do because you're stuck inside doing homework.

Now, that sounds like a simple example, but it is very true.  I can speak from experience.  In general, I enjoy being productive and getting my school work done.  I enjoy that accomplished feeling.  But there are those days when you may not have gotten a good night's sleep or had to wake up extra early for practice, and getting the simplest things done are made difficult.  But, to tell you the truth, tiredness is just an excuse for laziness.  Tiredness is no excuse.

But on the other hand, why can't our Christian walk do the exact thing, that is extending into every other vein of life?  When we profess faith in Christ, then it should impact any and every walk of life.  Our goal should be perfection.  Our goal is to walk by Christ and become sanctified, to be made whole.  Our goal is impossible, but on this race to impossibility, we are made new.  We are made like Christ.  If we walk in faith, then we will be blessed.  Faith in Christ is everything.  Christ is our foundation.  We are built up by the Cornerstone.

Faith is life.