“Back before I became a Christian,” Stan began, “I had a very generous and sharing neighbor who made a huge impact on my decision to commit my life to God.”
“What was that all about?” I asked.
“He was a very handy person,” Stan replied. “He could fix most anything and had just about every tool imaginable.”
Continuing, he added, “I was kind of handy, but I didn’t have very many tools to be handy with, but my neighbor would let me borrow his.”
“Well, that was sure nice of him,” I responded.
“Very nice,” Stan said, “but he had strict rules about borrowing anything.”
“What?”
“Return what I borrowed,” Stan replied, “and make certain it was clean and in working order.”
“That seems only fair,” I responded.
“Indeed,” Stan said, “but what really impacted me one day was what my neighbor said about something I couldn’t borrow.”
“Couldn’t borrow?” I replied. “He had some tools he said you couldn’t borrow? Why?”
“Not tools,” Stan said, “but his faith. He said that no one could borrow his faith. It had to be their own.”
“Oh,” I replied, “kind of like it being a personal relationship between you and God, not riding on the back of someone else’s faith.”
“Exactly,” Stan said. “At that point in my life I had not made my faith my own. I was just kind of going through the motions without making a personal commitment.”
“But,” he continued, “what my neighbor said to me really made me focus on the truth of not being able to live the life God intends on borrowed faith. It has to be my own, based on my personal belief.”
Concluding, he added, “The cornerstone of why God the Father gave His only Son was to grant salvation to those who believe. And it’s a personal belief, not one that can be borrowed from someone else.”
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For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have eternal life. John 3:16.
For by grace you have been saved through faith. Ephesians 2:8.
Prayer: Thank you, Father, for giving your only begotten Son so that I could accept your free and gracious gift of salvation. Thank you for the people you sent into my life to show me the truth that your salvation has to be accepted personally by faith; that it has to be my own, not something I could borrow from another person. Thank you, too, for the opportunity to continually have a deepening personal relationship with you by pursuing the eternal life of knowing you and Jesus. Please help me follow your lead into as deep a personal relationship as is possible. Thank you I can and do bring these prayers before you in the name of Jesus. Amen.
Think on this: Do you agree that your belief in God, as well as your relationship with Him, is personal and has to be your own? Why or why not? Do you have that personal relationship based on your own faith? If not, why? If you don’t have that personal relationship, but would like to have it, do you know how to make that a reality for you?
Waiting for the Train 