Christian life is a walk of faith; it cannot be conducted any other way. Christian life is spiritual, not natural. It’s based on spiritual laws as opposed to natural ones. In the natural realm, we make our decisions based on natural info. We understand our natural world from what we see, hear, touch, smell and taste. These sense based functions provide data for our intellectual faculties. Like the sensors on an automobile, our natural senses pick up information from our surroundings. They forward that data to our brains. Our brains, like the electronic modules in an automobile, synthesize incoming information to determine requisite output.
How we react to incoming information depends on the configuration of our spiritual modules, so to speak, and the calibration of our “sensors.”
Simple Analogy
For instance, your car has upstream and downstream oxygen sensors. These O2 sensors feed data to a module on the amount of oxygen entering and exiting the exhaust system. By synthesizing this data, the module responsible for fuel consumption calculates the appropriate air to fuel ratio entering the combustion chambers in the engine. A properly calibrated air/fuel mixture ensures maximum power output, minimum levels of harmful exhaust fumes and overall well-being of your automobile. If a malfunction is reported from the sensors, the module sends a check-engine notification to your dashboard to alert you of the problem. Thus, a good driving experience from your car is contingent upon well serviced systems.
The same is true of our spiritual lives. You see, if an oxygen sensor is partially or fully blocked, it sends incorrect data to the module, and faulty data is used to synthesize output controls. Results may present in poor driving experience, excessive fuel consumption, misfires, smoking tailpipe (physical evidence of environmental pollution), and a host of other problems. In similar manner, improper alignment of our spiritual faculties results in problematic Christian experience. By whatever degree our spiritual sensors are out of order, by the same our lives are out of whack.
The kinds of temptations we fall into often act as indicators of malfunction in our spiritual systems. Failures can serve a good purpose, like the yellow check-engine light on your dashboard. These indicators are friendly warnings that we have only enough time to get to the nearest repair shop before something really nasty happens. If you ignore a yellow warning sign on your dashboard, the next one will be red, indicating that your problem has advanced to a more expensive repair work!
Love Makes Faith Work
Are you plagued by issues that never seem to go away even after much praying? Are satan’s blows landing heavily on you every time? Do you seem to run from one setback to another? Are you beginning to doubt that God’s promises are true for all believers? If your faith doesn’t seem to work anymore, then it’s time to pop the hood of your spiritual vehicle. The first place to look for malfunction is your love walk! Nothing blows your faith fuse faster or more ably than when you entertain resentment, animosity or hatred in your Christian life!
Galatians 5:6
“…For in Jesus Christ neither circumcision availeth any thing, nor uncircumcision; but faith which worketh by love.” (King James Version (KJV)
“For in Christ, neither our most conscientious religion nor disregard of religion amounts to anything. What matters is something far more interior: faith expressed in love.” ~ The Message Bible
“If you are a follower of Christ Jesus, it makes no difference whether you are circumcised or not. All that matters is your faith that makes you love others.” ~ Contemporary English Version (CEV)
“Here’s the thing: in Jesus the Anointed whether you are circumcised or not makes no difference. What makes a difference is faith energized by love.” ~The Voice
“And we to whom Christ has given eternal life don’t need to worry about whether we have been circumcised or not, or whether we are obeying the Jewish ceremonies or not; for all we need is faith working through love.” ~The Living Bible (TLB)
I read the following words from a lesson in my Kenneth E. Hagin Legacy Bible © rhema.org. “Doubt and fear go hand in hand, but faith and love also go hand in hand. First John 4:11 says, “Perfect love casteth out fear.” [Doubt: The Thief of God’s Greater Blessings] pg 82.