Day by Day
Next Tuesday, the final episode for this Spring and Summer season of podcasts from Church on the Edge is scheduled for release. “Journey of Faith” is the title I chose for these twelve podcasts based on the story of Abraham, which begins in Genesis 12:1 with God’s call to “follow me to a land I will show you.”
The call of Jesus to you and me is no different. “Follow me” is an invitation underscoring the truth that faith is indeed a journey as we follow Christ into the un-chartered waters of an uncertain future.
Maybe you have listened to some of the episodes from this series. Maybe not. Either way, I want to emphasize something I’ve said over and over in these podcasts - faith, by its very nature, is not static, frozen in time, but dynamic, always moving, always on the go. This dynamic understanding of faith is important for at least two reasons.
First, faith is a living thing. And living things are either growing or dying. “We live by faith,” Paul tells us in 2 Corinthians 5:7. And just a few verses before, he says this - “Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day.” (2 Corinthians 4:16, NIV)
There is no such thing as a cryogenic faith.
Cryogenics is the term used to describe the freezing of a dead body with liquid nitrogen immediately after death. Advocates of cryogenics believe that at some future date, scientists will learn how to bring the bodies back to life, finding cures for the diseases that killed them.
I have my doubts about cryogenics, but I have no doubt that there is no such thing as a frozen faith. Faith’s fire can, at times, be reduced to a tiny spark. I’ve experienced that on more than one occasion. It may be that even that spark can be extinguished. I’m not sure. I Timothy 1:19 tells us some have shipwrecked their faith.
But faith is never frozen.
The second reason we need to understand faith as dynamic is that our faith is best seen and understood from the perspective of a period of time rather than a moment in time.
I placed my faith in Jesus back in 1973, but that moment, as precious as it is to me, is not where my faith is found. It was the beginning of my faith journey, and someday, when I draw my last breath in this life, my journey of faith will end. But between the beginning and the end of that journey is where my faith is found. It is a continuum. The whole of the journey, not a part, is how my faith is measured.
As we follow Abraham’s journey of faith, we find some points on that journey where the father of our faith acts faithlessly —
He leaves the land God promised him, to live in Egypt.
He gives his wife away to save his neck (twice).
He laughs at the idea of his wife, Sarai, bearing a child in her old age.
He gives in to Sarai’s suggestion to produce an heir through his concubine, bringing nothing but trouble.
Honestly, the guy’s life gets pretty ugly at times. His faith falters on more than one occasion.
On the other hand, there are some incredible acts of faith on Abraham’s journey —
He left his country and people to follow God into the great unknown.
He was willing to give his nephew Lot the first choice of grazing lands because he trusted God to take care of him.
He rescued his sorry nephew, Lot, from three allied armies with only 318 men at his command.
He bound Isaac, his son, on the altar at Moriah in obedience to God’s command.
And these are just a few examples of Abraham’s incredible faith.
Here’s what I want you to see - Your faith, in whatever state it exists today, is just one point on the continuum, one day on your life’s journey. However strong or weak you consider your faith to be, don’t remain focused on today. By God’s grace, you have many more days left on your journey.
“Day by Day” is the phrase used by recovering alcoholics. It’s not a bad phrase for those of us called to follow Jesus on our individual journeys of faith.
I’m old enough to remember the song “Day by Day” from the musical Godspell. I leave you with the words of that song today.
Day by day
Day by day
O dear Lord
Three things I pray
To see thee more clearly
Love thee more dearly
Follow thee more nearly
Day by day
In Christ,
Dan
Check out my podcasts from Church on the Edge and my books on Kindle.