Spotlight 8/2017: Faith is the foundation
Glorifying God? Sometimes we just feel too down for this, especially when fear and pain distort our view of that which is godly. District Apostle Tshitshi Tshisekedi (DR Congo South-East) knows a source of strength which never dries up.
“Jesus said to her, ‘Did I not say to you that if you would believe you would see the glory of God?’” (John 11: 40). The account of the Lord raising Lazarus from the dead shows us just how important faith in Jesus Christ is in our lives as Christians: He enables us to glorify God, our Father.
Sometimes in our day-to-day lives things take a hold of us that hurt and that instill a fear of the future in us so that we no longer see any reason to give God glory. Our perspective of things spiritual becomes obscured and we run the risk of making wrong decisions that can harm us spiritually.
Faith in Jesus Christ shines like a light in our spiritual life: it enables us to recognize spiritual miracles, which God accomplishes on us. For this it is necessary that we believe in the teaching of the Lord and in the words of His servants.
Let us not content ourselves with what we hear but also put it into practice. Jesus loves all people and He wants to save all of us—despite our weaknesses and imperfections. A good example that illustrates this is the rich young man. In Mark 10: 21 it says: “Then Jesus, looking at him, loved him.” And in the account of Lazarus we read: “Now Jesus loved Martha” (John 11: 5).
The word of the Lord should be firmly rooted in us and not be subject to fluctuation, as was the case with Martha. She had just told the Lord: “Yes, Lord, I believe that You are the Christ, the Son of God, who is to come into the world” (John 11: 27), and then a little later she said: “Lord, by this time there is a stench, for he has been dead four days” (John 11: 39).
“Did I not say to you …” the Lord tells us. He speaks with us today, and will continue to do so every time we may have an encounter with Him. Let us endeavor to receive the word of God in faith and put it into practice—to honour and glorify our God and Father.