Faith comes from hearing the message, and the message
is heard through the word of Christ. Romans 10:17
Life Question: Without the Crucifixion, Would We Understand the Importance
of Faith?
In this last installment of Soul Conversations series 'Without the Crucifixion' we ask
the question "Without the crucifixion, would we have faith? Now before I go
any deeper into the subject, we must ask the following questions of ourselves:
1) Is my faith important to me?
2) What role does having faith play in my life?
3) What was my response when my faith was tested?
As I reveal to many of you some time ago, I did not come from a spiritual
household, much less, a Christian one. So the answer to the first question for
me was, "It wasn't important." I was taught as my parents knee that "if you
wanted something, just take it and run." All the while they took us to church
and to Sunday School.
As a result, God, to us was made to be seen as someone that is head of the
lottery commission who just rains fortune down on us and all we need to do
is hold out our arms and catch it. THAT IS NOT THE WAY A RELATIONSHIP WITH
GOD WORKS! Even as a child I knew this, but from a child's point of view,
how can we explain this to our parents?
It leaves a young one in a very vulnerable position having to navigate one's
faith journey on one's own. Even though I had the faith of only a mustard seed
(as it states in the Bible)at that time, I was led down a dark path, and so,
from the age of 15 until the year 2004, I was involved in the occult(Ouija boards,
spell casting divination etc.)because, of course, as a teenager we have not
the sense God gave a goose! When my family saw this happening, they did
not give me much in way of guidance, did not take me to our pastor for counsel
or try to discourage my actions, in fact they approved of and encouraged them!
Then, around 2002-2003 I ran into and old from from my teen years who saw where
I was in my life and he began to talk with me about God and why I haven't asked
Him for his guidance and direction and kept encouraging me along the way,
because, and I believe it wholeheartedly, it was God's divine intervention that
set things in a more positive direction.....then the adversary one more card to play....
One night as I read scripture, the adversary choked me, very literally, choked me.
I saw him! It was then I knew my place needed a blessing.....and so did my life.
My pastor came and we blessed my place together after telling him what had
occurred, and things have come full circle for me. That doesn't mean, however,
that the adversary will leave one alone who has opened their door to him. We must
always keep on our spiritual guard up and learn as I did that we must hold fast to Jesus Christ.
That's why as this blog series comes to a close, I leave you with this parting thought:
It matters not how much money, fame, prestige, possessions, friends and family
we have, because at the end of our lives, the only thing we can take with us, is our
faith. So the question becomes, "Without the Crucifixion, Would We Have Faith?"
Happy Easter and God Bless One And All!
Blessings,
Liz Ciccone
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