I've watched time and time again as a small child learns to pull himself up to a standing position. Challenges present themselves at every turn, the first being learning how to stand without outside support. Before he knows it, motility is discovered.
One of the things I've really been pondering is the importance of making your faith your own. Know what you believe and be willing to fight for those beliefs. They are your life, your support system, and without them, you will fall.
As children, we are brought up on our parents' beliefs as they seek to raise up godly children. They instill the beliefs in us that they think are important. They teach them right from wrong with foundational beliefs. Unfortunately many people stop at the foundation level thinking they've got everything they need to succeed. What they don't realize is that they were given merely a foundation on which they are supposed to build.
Proverbs 6:6-9, "Go to the ant, O sluggard; consider her ways and be wise. Without having any chief, officer, or ruler, she prepares her bread in summer and gathers her food in harvest. How long will you lie there, O sluggard? When will you arise from your sleep?"
I'm taking a biology class right now that is focused on plant and animal life. An animal's whole purpose in life is survival. They hunt to survive, reproduce to have a surviving generation, etc., etc., etc. Living by evading predators and passing on their genes to the next generation is their only care.
The ant has no parent ensuring that she is continuing to build on what she already has, she instinctively knows to do so. She does not need to be told twice to work hard. She understands that if she does not gather food and store up for the winter she will not survive to see the spring.
Just like the ant, we as Christians are called to own our faith. We are to build upon the foundation that our parents provided for us and continue to grow. Maybe that includes replacing an old brick for a new one, or maybe that means laying up a store of Scripture behind a principle we were taught and agree with. The importance of this principle cannot be emphasized enough! If we do not take our beliefs to heart and take ownership of them, we will not survive the winters that come our way. It's the work of a lifetime, and one that we are called to do wholeheartedly.
If done well, you will be able to step back and admire your own beautiful home. It will be standing in a neighborhood not made of cookie cutter houses, but one in which each structure has its own personality. Learn from the beliefs of your parents, but don't be afraid to search the Scriptures and stand firm in your own beliefs and convictions. You act based on your personal beliefs so know what it is that makes you act.
It will take blood, sweat, and tears if done properly, but it will all be worth it when you gaze into the eyes of Jesus on Judgement Day and hear his voice as He says, "Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your Master." ~ Matthew 25:21
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