Faith Gets Back On Track

For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, “The just shall live by faith." Romans 1:17

From faith to faith: we see a staircase rising up to Heaven as we earn our spot one step at a time. Yeah, that would be in line with a human religion, one controlled by and created for humans, an invention of man's desire to be in control. So, what did Paul mean by faith to faith? Maybe what we experience in this life as we follow the Master. We live by faith to faith because in between those faiths we have this little problem of unbelief. We doubt in those moments our salvation even though it is based on His name, His work, His sacrifice, and not on what we have done. We indulge for a moment in a bit of self pity over what the other fellow has; forgetting in that time of unbelief all that we have and are promised in Christ. But the revelation of God is that we are loved in those moments too, and faith gets back on track.

There is a journey involving faith, but this is a lifetime journey and sometimes the stairs lead downward through a dark valley. Our trip to Heaven is assured in Christ, and our thanks to God that it is not some ladder or staircase we must climb for many of us would faint along the way in our weakness and fall off. Instead we are led by the Lord along a narrow way that leads from a narrow gate that few find. Faith is the times we are wholly trusting in Him and making good progress along the narrow way. Unbelief is the between times when we are at the edge of the path looking into the darkness and making no headway along the way. Often it is something painful that turns us back to our Lord and faith.

Then, since I seem to be full of metaphorical today, there comes those tough times when faith grows, the path heads downward, the dark valley seems full of fire and storm, but He leads us through. This is not a time of unbelief, nor a penalty for doubt, but a trial of an ever strengthening faith. Trembling we follow the Shepherd as the path grows slippery with the rain of tribulation. Our flock seems so small against a world of billions, yet not one sheep doubts that the Shepherd will bring us up again to a pasture of comfort, a plateau of restorative faith, for He is good.

A word of praise to our Good Shepherd!
Bucky