Wednesday, March 3, 2010

The Orthodox Heretic: Finding Faith

This tale is about a preacher who found out from a very early age that he had an unusual gift. Every time he prayed for someone they lost all of their religious convictions and faith. Once he learned this he committed himself to solely preaching and not praying for others. One day he met a very successful businessman who began to talk about how the world he was engaged in was not a godly one. He admitted that the business world was cut throat and that he couldn't always follow his Christian convictions but that he felt he made up for it by work in the church. The preacher realized the reason for his gift and asked if he could pray for the man. The man agreed and after the prayer he renounced his previous Christian convictions. As he went back to work he realized that he was just another horrible person caught up in a system that he didn't like, so he quit and gave all of his money to those less fortunate. He even began to work against the system that he was formally a part of on behalf of those that it took advantage. One day while walking through town he saw the preacher and fell at his feet and thanked him for helping the man find his faith.

This tale talks about how we sometime confuse our faith with doing 'things.' The important thing to note here is that true faith will change something deep within us. Ministry and various activities that you do with the church are important, but it should only be the tip of the iceberg. Truth like this hits me between the eyes because I have been guilty of this in my life and ministry. Lord, open my eyes to seeing the possibilities of my faith.

No comments:

Post a Comment