A Word to Those Who Lack Faith (part 2)

Last week I was honored to speak at a memorial service. The room was full and many offered meaningful words and shared memorable stories. As people processed by the casket, I stood at the door and greeted people as they departed the room. One of those toward the end of the line gripped my hand and whispered, “I don’t know how you do that. That’s got to be the hardest thing anyone could ever do.” While I didn’t take time to respond to those words, I thought about them. My conclusion was that it really depends on the person. You see, I am becoming convinced that you die like you live.

Much of Jesus teaching was devoted to faith. He talked about saving faith with Nicodemus in John chapter three. Many of his conversations with the disciples centered on the subject of faith. And of course, he also talked about dying faith.

I believe that life is God’s gift to us, and its purpose is to take the gift of life and use it to know God, love God, and trust God. It is through our living that we learn day by day that God can be completely trusted. Every day is a fresh opportunity to entrust our lives into the hands of God. If we can’t learn to trust God now, how will we ever face death? Maybe we shouldn’t begrudge our adversities, seeing that they serve a greater purpose. As we learn to trust God in our relationships, finances, employment and physical health we are learning that God can be completely trusted. We die like we live. That’s how Jesus died.