ODB: like a tree
February 5, 2010
READ: Ephesians 4:11-16
He shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water. —Psalm 1:3
In the quietness of my final years I plan to watch a tree grow—a birch tree I planted as a tiny sapling over 30 years ago. It stands now in mature splendor, just outside our picture window—beautiful in every season of the year.
So it is with our spiritual endeavors: We may have planted, watered, and fussed over our “saplings” (those we’ve mentored) for a time, but only God can make a “tree.”
Occasionally I hear from those I ministered to years ago, and discover to my delight that they have grown to maturity and have been greatly used of God—with no help from me. It’s a gentle reminder that I plant and water for a while, and help others “grow up in all things into Him who is the head—Christ” (Eph. 4:15). But only God “gives the increase” (1 Cor. 3:6-7).
German theologian Helmut Thielicke writes, “The man who doesn’t know how to let go, who is a stranger to quiet, confident joy in Him who carries out His purposes without us (or also through us or in spite of us), in Him who makes the trees grow . . . that man will become nothing but a miserable creature in his old age.”
So, at my age, I may yet tend a sapling or two, but mostly I will let go and watch them grow. — David H. Roper
Those who follow Christ can help others follow Him too.
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Loading ...ODJ: knowledge isn’t enough
Faith is the confidence that what we hope for will actually happen; it gives us assurance about things we cannot see (v.1).
READ: Hebrews 11:1-12
The preacher asked his audience whether they believed he had a $20 bill in his closed hand. After a woman said that she believed he did, the speaker announced that he would destroy her faith by opening his hand and showing the money. “Now that you know I have a $20 bill,” he said, “you can no longer have faith that I do.”
If the preacher is correct, then the return of Christ will destroy the faith of His followers, for our faith will now be sight (2 Corinthians 5:7). And Jesus would not have told Thomas, “You believe because you have seen Me” (John 20:29), but rather “Because you have seen Me, you are no longer able to believe.”
The preacher mistakenly thought that empirical proof destroys faith. Instead, proof strengthens faith by eliminating the uncertainty that often accompanies it (Hebrews 11:1). Firsthand evidence confirms our knowledge, which bolsters our faith.
Faith is not the opposite of knowledge. Faith actually rests on knowledge. The more we know, the more we’re able to believe. Knowledge itself is not sufficient for faith, for even demons believe and tremble (James 2:19), but it’s impossible to have faith without it.
Like the pilot of a hang glider who leaps off a cliff and trusts his survival to the sturdy construction of his glider and the principles of aerodynamics, we have faith only when we put our full trust in the promises of God.
Knowledge isn’t enough. I may understand how hang gliding works and yet refuse to jump. But I won’t take the leap of faith unless I know that hang gliding is a reliable sport. Likewise, I may know the promises of God and still not believe them. But it’s impossible to believe them if I don’t first know them. Want stronger faith? Start by getting to know God. —Mike Wittmer
What’s one promise from God that you know is true? Do you also believe it? Have you placed your full trust in that promise and are you acting as if you think it’s true?
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