Wednesday, July 10, 2019

Orange Moon Cafe "Why Faith?" Part 2 - "Glory"

The Special of the Day… From the Orange Moon Cafe… 



"Why Faith?"

Part 2 - "Glory"


    
    "He staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief, but was strong in faith, giving glory to God" (Romans 4:20).

    The Apostle Paul's affirmation of Abraham's faith resulting in glory to God provides another foundational answer to the question, "Why faith?"  Abraham greatly honored his Lord by trusting Him, from the beginning departure from his homeland, and throughout his journey of walking with God as "the father of all them that believe" (Romans 4:11).  He had missteps, some consequential, but the Lord nevertheless guided and empowered Abraham by the Divine faithfulness that elicited human faith.  

    The latter point must be viewed as the key to Abraham's life.  God's faithfulness originated and sustained faith in His servant.  The chronicle of Abraham's life glimmers with the glory not of his trust, but of his Lord's trustworthiness.  Certainly Abraham made the choices to respond to the light of God by the capacity for faith built into human hearts by our Lord (Romans 10:8-10).  However, we glorify God alone for the illumination that shines forth from Abraham as the Scriptural record bears witness to the grace and mercy of the Lord's calling, consecration, and consummation in Abraham.  Indeed, his human life of faith resulted from the Divine Light of God's faithfulness.  Why faith?  Because it glories our Lord.

    We honor God by trusting Him.  In this present fallen world of our sojourn, walking by faith is completely counterintuitive to our flesh, which "lusteth against the spirit" (Galatians 5:17).  Overcoming our native tendency to unbelief requires the working of the Holy Spirit to illuminate and empower our confidence in the Lord Jesus Christ.  Little wonder that the writer of Hebrews refers to our Savior as "the author and finisher of our faith" (Hebrews 12:2).  He is.  We "consider Him" whenever we feel "wearied and faint" in trusting God (Hebrews 12:3).  He faithfully responds by infusing our confidence with His living presence and enabling to see God's light that "shineth in darkness" (John 1:5).  Again, we play a role of response, but at the end of the day, trusting God speaks not of our faith, but of His faithfulness.  "All glory to Him!" we exult whenever we find ourselves taking the next step of faith, and the next, and the next…

    Why faith?  Yet again, the first answers have all to do with God rather than ourselves.  To genuinely trust our Lord is to greatly honor Him.  Such glory accompanied the earthly journey of Abraham, as it will all who walk in his footsteps.  Or even more, as the Christ who empowered Abraham's confidence reveals His faithfulness in our own.

"We have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God."
(Romans 5:2)

Weekly Memory Verse
   Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace unto the hearers."
(Ephesians 4:29)     




  






















5646

No comments: