Breath and Faith
Breathing is something a lot of people take for granted. An involuntary reflex, it just happens without thinking about it. The lungs expand to let air in and contract to let air out. It's a simple process, really, and one that is vital to life. What an amazing thing it is that your body can just do that!
I, however, am not one of those people that can take breathing for granted. Being an asthmatic and allergic to 87.5% of environmental allergens had made breathing something that I am quite grateful for. When it's actually possible to breathe through my nose (a true rarity, really), I consider it a miracle and do it intentionally as much as possible just to enjoy the fact that I can. Up until just over a year ago, I had massive tonsils that blocked sometimes up to 100% of my throat, making even mouth breathing next to impossible. I'm beyond grateful for the tonsillectomy that took away that obstruction as well!
Be grateful if breathing is so easy for you that you can take it for granted. In the same way, be grateful if having assurance in your faith and your path in life comes easy to you. There is a true simplicity to the message of the Gospel, and perhaps for you, accepting it for all its worth has been just as simple as ABC (or any of the other mnemonic devices used to present it).
Honestly, rejoice if this has been the case, but don't forget to work patiently with those who don't find their faith so easily. Having questions and doubts about what you believe doesn't mean you don't believe. In fact, I've heard it said that those who believe in spite of their doubts often have more faith than those with no doubts at all.
Do you have questions? Ask them!
Do you have doubts? Challenge them!
As the band Switchfoot sang, "doubt your doubts and believe your beliefs."
Keep breathing, friends.
I, however, am not one of those people that can take breathing for granted. Being an asthmatic and allergic to 87.5% of environmental allergens had made breathing something that I am quite grateful for. When it's actually possible to breathe through my nose (a true rarity, really), I consider it a miracle and do it intentionally as much as possible just to enjoy the fact that I can. Up until just over a year ago, I had massive tonsils that blocked sometimes up to 100% of my throat, making even mouth breathing next to impossible. I'm beyond grateful for the tonsillectomy that took away that obstruction as well!
Be grateful if breathing is so easy for you that you can take it for granted. In the same way, be grateful if having assurance in your faith and your path in life comes easy to you. There is a true simplicity to the message of the Gospel, and perhaps for you, accepting it for all its worth has been just as simple as ABC (or any of the other mnemonic devices used to present it).
Honestly, rejoice if this has been the case, but don't forget to work patiently with those who don't find their faith so easily. Having questions and doubts about what you believe doesn't mean you don't believe. In fact, I've heard it said that those who believe in spite of their doubts often have more faith than those with no doubts at all.
Do you have questions? Ask them!
Do you have doubts? Challenge them!
As the band Switchfoot sang, "doubt your doubts and believe your beliefs."
Keep breathing, friends.
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