HOW IMPORTANT IS YOUR FAITH TO YOU?

Dedication to a task is one of the most important elements one must have in order to complete it. In any athletic event, the people who play must be dedicated in order to succeed. Athletes will dedicate their time, their money, and their efforts so that they will be at the top of their game. It can be said of many athletes that they dedicate their lives to become the best at the sport that they play. Their success is of a great importance in their lives.

The preacher said, "Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all of your might" (Eccl. 9:10). When people have a job to do, their response should be in diligent labor to finish the job. This is true in every aspect of that person's life, but more so even in their walk as a Christian. How hard they work on this job will reflect just how important they view it. All will see how dedicated this person is to their Christianity.

Please look at these questions and honestly search your own heart for the answers:

1. How dedicated are you to being a Christian?
2. How important is your faith to you?
3. Do you really want to go to Heaven?

These questions can sometimes be quickly and easily answered. Perhaps the most important question to ask then would be "does my life show my dedication to the Lord?"

When people are totally dedicated to being a Christian, they are going to be active and busy serving the Lord. The days of their lives begin and end with a prayer. Throughout the day they are looking for and taking advantage of the multiple opportunities that come their way. They understand that dedication demands hard work and they are willing to do the work.

When Christians place great importance on their faith, they cherish every opportunity for it to grow. They are studying daily. They seek to improve their knowledge of why they believe what they do. They rely on their own faith and not the faith of their parents or grandparents. Their faith is valuable to them because it is their own.

When Christians really want to go to Heaven, they strive to walk in the footsteps of Jesus. This is a daily walk that will take them many places. They must be excited to be around other Christians, looking for every opportunity to do so. Enjoying times spent in songs of praise and in talking to God. They do this because they are dedicated and because their faith is of great importance to them.

Sometimes as you are driving down the road, you may see a young person in their little red hot rod. As this young person pulls out of a driveway or parking lot, you may hear the sound of tires screeching, smell the rubber burning, and see the white smoke flying. When people encounter this scene, the statement is often made, "his daddy must buy his tires." That statement is made because we understand the fact that we sometimes take better care of the things that we saved our own money for and bought. When our faith is our own, the same principle applies. We are going to take better care of it. We are going to cultivate it and help it grow because we truly want to go to Heaven and we have dedicated our lives to that end. When our faith is not our own, we haven't taken the time to cultivate it and it is not growing.

How important is your faith to you? Is it your own? Are you dedicated to watching it grow?

By David Deason via, Gospel Power, Vol. 11, No. 21, May 23, 2004.

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