November 1

“Faith is the vital principle of the spiritual life just as truly as breathing is the vital principle of the bodily life.  We can no more live spiritually without faith than we can live our bodily life without breathing.”  Hannah Whitall Smith, God is Enough, 10/12

This is so obvious you wonder why we are so adept at forgetting it.  I’ve been a part of several different churches and I can say I often saw this principle violated in its leadership.  Every one of those churches had “faith statements”, but when it came to practicing actual faith--believing without seeing--they often rationalized their actions as “stewardship”.  The times when faith would be exercised, there always seemed to be some vocal person in the congregation that challenged the decision because it wasn’t practical or it was too risky.  In fact, I’m sure this is often the cause of splits in the church--what one group of people calls faith, another calls foolishness.  So, how do we know the difference?  This is why I believe, individually, our personal relationship with God is of the utmost importance before we try to live by faith as a group.  If we aren’t practicing this kind of life in our daily routine, how can we possibly expect to know what God would have the “church” to do?  This is also why it’s important for us to hold each other accountable.  This is the only kind of church that can know it is following God’s will.

“He [a bishop] must manage his own household well, keeping his children submissive and respectful in every way; for if a man does not know how to manage his own household, how can he care for God’s church?”  1 Timothy 3:5