The substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. That’s Hebrews 11:1…what a great definition for faith! I don’t know if you have ever had the perfect slice of peaches and cream pie, but if you have ever had the pleasure of a bite from one of my wife’s famous peaches in cream pies, then you have! I couldn’t make that pie if my life depended on it. But when I come into the kitchen and I see the ingredients for that pie on the counter and I see Vannessa there in her baking apron…I am convinced a peaches and cream pie is forthcoming! The writer of Hebrews reminds us that our faith is an essential ingredient in the hands of God for that which we hope. And we are implored all throughout Scripture to devote ourselves to spiritual practices, what we call spiritual pathways at our church, so we can develop, nurture, and grow virtues like faith in our lives. But that’s something very different from a gift of faith. Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 12:7-9a about faith that is a gift…the kind of gift so that we can serve and help others. You don’t earn it, grow it, develop it…you receive it. You accept it. Do you have a friend who is holding onto to hope for something weighty? Their faith, a virtue they carry inside, part of the character of Christ within them, their faith that is the substance of this thing hoped for, the evidence of this thing not seen is barely holding on. God wants to give you a gift of faith to stand with them! God wants to give you a gift of faith to help carry that hope! Will you accept it?
by City Life