"... why could we not cast it out?..."
Without faith it is impossible to either please God or keep in step with the works of God.
There are two sorts of faith. One is a Passive Faith. It believes all things are possible and watches the impossible take place. When the impossible takes place a Passive Faith will rise to declare God's faithfulness. It is a nice, cordial - all the same "powerless" - spiritual posture.
The other kind of faith is an Active Faith. It includes all the surety of the Passive Faith but also includes an intentional yoking to the activity of the Kingdom. It is a participatory faith, a stepping out in obedience kind of faith.
To a person with Active Faith, the crises is transcended by the Christ Ascended. He is there, just behind what you can see, arms stretched out and inviting you to get active.
A passive faith will look at a situation so intently that the situation itself becomes the object of that same persons faith. The demon-possessed child, a father's illness, the Way of the Cross - these things, if not careful, have the power to redirect our faith into theses items themselves, rendering us powerless in our faith's misdirection. It is here when the creation becomes the object of our Faith and not the Creator.
But an Active Faith can see right through the crises to the One who is the Lord of the Crises. It will raise an anchoring smile and even wonder that the Lord is up to an any particular situation - fully assured that the Lord WILL be up to something in any particular situation.
Faith is like an anchor. Passive Faith is like a man who is anchored to the world, to things seen, and is incapable to either seeing through them or participating in Kingdom Activity with a convincing, believing heart. For him, his downward faith breeds great hesitation, apprehension, and procrastination in the the things of God, as there is no heart so burdened as the one who dreams yet cannot sleep.
Yet, as God installs grace in this same man, he is Graced with the ability to cast this same anchor into the clouds. No longer is he bound, but led; no longer dragged from behind, but tugged from beyond - from way up there, from Somewhere in the clouds. To him, yesterday's passive ball and chain has become today's kite, pulling him confidently into the Activity of Heaven.
His job is to merely hold on and "go with it!"
Cast your cares upon him. Pray to the Lord to increase your faith, to turn your eyes from the event to the Lord of the Event. Then, assured of his Presence therein, allow his pulling to bring you into active participation in the Winds of Grace.
Faith, after all, is a verb.
No comments:
Post a Comment