We can rejoice, too, when we run into problems and trials, for we know that they help us develop endurance. And endurance develops strength of character, and character strengthens our confident hope of salvation. (Romans 5:3-4)The main difference between a strong and hard Maine pine and a soft and easily broken Texas pine is the weather. Both have the same basic wood, but both are markedly different.
For all of its life, the Maine pine stands under extreme cold and wind. It lives on the coast of Maine where the brutal northeast winds come off the ocean. It grows slowly and fights for every inch. The wood it produces is hard and dense because of this.
The Texas pine, on the other hand, doesn’t go through this harsh a life. It lives in Texas where the temperatures are much more even. There is a little cold but there is also a lot of heat. It grows quickly. The wood it produces is soft and rots easily.
One goes through a lot of trials growing and the other doesn’t. both are good pines and useful for building. But at the same time, both are different.
The same with our faith. A faith that is never tested is a weak faith. Those who have never gone through problems in their lives have weak faith. They may feel strong and they may believe in God and all that. But their faith has never been tested.
Of course, if nothing bad ever happens, it is easy to be strong. But real strength comes from trial. Faith is a muscle and has to be exercised to be strong.
To get strong muscles, you have to stress those muscles. The only way to get strength is by picking up heavy objects. In other weightlifting. You cannot be strong unless you do.
But the more you pick up, the more you can pick up. The harder you go, the stronger you get.
Strength is only gained through exercise. Faith is only gained through exercise.
The exercising of your faith is never fun. That’s because it takes the from of trial, of problems in your life. The devil works on you and it is no fun. But the apostle Paul in the passage above says that the end result is worth it.
With the problems comes endurance, the ability to keep on. With the endurance comes strength of character. You do what is right and you and God and those around you know it. And with that character comes the knowledge that you are a child of God.
It would be great to go through life with no problems, no difficulties, no hassles. But if we did, we wouldn’t have much faith. And what little we had would be weak and small.
No comments:
Post a Comment
To comment, post your comment and click the anonymous button. It would be nice if you signed it so I could know who you are.
You are welcome to say anything you want as long as it is nice. If I don't like it, or it is ugly, I will take it off, place it into the garbage disposal, grind it up, and allow it to be flushed into the Gulf of Mexico where it will be eaten by a fish and then excreted where it will lie on the bottom of the ocean until it is covered up by other comments.