You hear people talk about “maturing in the faith.” What exactly does that mean? One of the best ways to understand that concept is by embracing the following truism: Maturity Is For Ministry. In other words, as we grow in our faith (that is, as we mature) we go out into all the world and use our God-given time, talent, and treasure to expand the cause of the Kingdom of Christ. So . . . does your faith have feet?
God’s greatest goal for the Christian is Christlikeness; we are predestined to be conformed to the likeness of Christ (Romans 8:29). As God patiently shapes and molds us to be more and more like Jesus, we will act more and more like Jesus. His faith had feet, and our faith will have feet.
There is one significant difference that we must never forget: Our Lord’s faith walked perfectly everywhere He went — in thought, word, deed, and desire. Ours will not. We will walk imperfectly; we will stumble; we may even fall. Yet the fact that we will inevitably sin in thought, word, deed, and desire should not keep us from putting feet to our faith every day and prayerfully striving to make a difference in this world by being different from this world. “For though a righteous man falls seven times, he rises again” (Proverbs 24:16).
Here is another way to look at this important biblical truth. All of the instruction we receive through God’s ordained means of grace — Bible study, prayer, church attendance, fasting, tithing, etc. — must be followed by involvement. Simply listening to the truth of God’s Word is never the ultimate goal. Head knowledge must always move down into the heart and then flow out of our hands and our feet for the glory of God and the good of others. Being in Christ will take you beyond believing move you into belonging and becoming. To be sure, we must know the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth; but that truth is to flow through us as we belong to Jesus and become more and more like Jesus.
James, the brother of our Lord, said it very directly:
Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like a man who looks at his face in a mirror and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. But the man who looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues to do this, not forgetting what he has heard, but doing it — he will be blessed in what he does. (James 1:22-25)
Remember, to have a saving knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ is to have a “serving knowledge” too. We are saved to serve as we put feet to our faith and live out each day in the power of the Holy Spirit.
This is the Gospel. This is grace for your race. NEVER FORGET THAT . . . AMEN!
Grace for the Race 