Scripture Lesson: Romans 4:3
May 2018
What does scripture say? “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness.” ~ Romans 4:3
Cooking is a complicated task until you learn how to do it. It matters not whether you are cooking on the stove, in the oven, on a grill, or baking, the most important part of cooking is getting your desired result which is only accomplished by thoughtful preparation. In all forms of cooking you need an ingredient that binds your food creation together, it could be the seasonings that bring out the favor of the food just lying dormant waiting for something to serve as a catalyst waking up those dormant favors, seasonings like basil, salt, peppers, bay leaves and cinnamon.
Or it could be something as common as flour that acts as the foundation for some recipes and a thickening agent for others. And it could be something as unassuming as yeast that acts to liven up some baked goods like breads and some donuts. What all methods of cooking have in common is that they need a cook who understands which ingredients work together and which do not.
That is the essence of the scripture lesson. When you experience the challenges of life, it is faith that enables you to go through the storm. When you don’t know what you are doing, it is faith that sees you through your time of uncertainty. When you don’t know what you are to do next, it is faith that allows you to hold on until you receive God’s direction. When you don’t know if your best is good enough, it is faith that tells you that God takes over where your abilities leave off. When you feel that you are all alone in your troubles, and peace of mind and peace of spirit seem to be only a distant memory, faith reminds you that trouble don’t last always. When the struggles of life just get you down, it is faith that shouts in your spirit, joy comes in the morning as the psalmist says in Psalm 30:5. When you experience the challenges of life, faith says go to the left and not to the right.
When you don’t know what you are doing, faith says follow the path that leads straight to God and not the path that leads to Satan. When you don’t know what you are to do next, faith says God would have you do A, B, and C. When you don’t know if you have done enough, faith says anything done in faith is always good enough because God will take care of the rest. When you feel you are all alone in your troubles, faith tells you that Jesus will help you to scale all the obstacles that are placed in your path. When the struggles of life just get you down, faith tells you to hold on, trouble don’t last always to paraphrase I Peter 5:10.
You would be no where without faith? You wouldn’t be able to get out of bed in the morning without faith. Faith tells you that though you don’t know what the day will bring, God is with you. You wouldn’t be able to brush your teeth without faith. Faith tells you that life is worth living and thus you need to take care of yourself so that you have good physical and oral health.
You wouldn’t be able to go to school without faith. Faith tells you that though school shootings happen far too frequently, go to school and trust that you will come home safe from it. You wouldn’t be able to go to work day after day without faith? Faith tells you that hard work still pays off in spite of the numerous people who prefer shortcuts to hard work. You wouldn’t be able to go to the grocery store without faith. Faith tells you that the food you purchase in the grocery store is safe to eat. You wouldn’t be able to go to the gas station without faith. Faith tells you that no spark will fly while you are there and thus the gas tanks won’t ignite into a fireball.
The point is, faith is a necessary ingredient in life. You need faith to do the small things, those everyday things you take for granted like walking and talking; you have faith that your legs and feet will take you where you want to go and that your words will be heard as you intended them to be received. Life is much more difficult to live without these abilities you use every day with little or no thought about how you do them.
Staying with these two common abilities you should know that it is faith that assures you that when you put your feet on the floor, they will be able to hold your weight. And it is faith that assures you that when you open your mouth, coherent words will come out. Faith is like yeast, flour, and all the other seasonings, faith livens up your life making it worth living. Without faith you would be too scared to do anything that you need to do, and certainly too afraid to do what God says do. Faith is the binding ingredient for the soup called the Christian life; with faith, you can do what God wants you to do knowing that God equips you for the tasks you were called to do.