Tested faith

Dr. Werner Gitt relates the following story. He says: "Since my childhood, I am particularly fond of Sunflowers. One year, after planting sunflower seeds in several places in our garden, a kind of parable occurred to me about the growing plants. Some grew quite near the house, under a roof, protected from the wind. These grew very rapidly and reached a height of 3 meters but had thin stalks. Others stood in the open, where they were soon "attacked" by the wind and developed an appropriately strong stem and roots.

One day a storm came and broke or knocked over the stems of the well protected sunflowers near the house, while the sunflowers standing in the open easily survived the storm, because they were accustomed to challenge. In the same way", Werner says, "tested faith will stand fast against tribulations and temptations".

Some Christians think that they're called to wrap themselves up in an "Insulated Christian Environment" - distanced totally from the world - almost in a Christianese Communal Cocoon." But this is NOT what God has in mind for His people. Jesus said: "My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one. They are not of the world, even as I am not of it. Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth. As you sent me into the world, I have sent them into the world".

We're not called to hide away from the world but to Go Into It! - knowing we're covered by God's Grace. To live IN the world, but not LIKE the world. We're called to be Overcomers - last time I looked, you could only Overcome something by actually facing it, you can't do that by sticking your head in the sand.

Faith is tested and strengthened only by facing and resisting the adverse winds - not by hiding from them.

To swim against the flow, we must first step out of our "protected", "comfortable", and "safe" little fish bowl, and into the big pond where a world headed for the great waterfall of destruction, desperately needs to hear what we have to say.

Adapted.