Faith ... Like A Window


“Faith, is like a window. 
It is not there because we happen to want one wall of the room to be made of glass.  It is there for the sake of what we can see through it –and in orderto let light into the room.”
NT Wright, small faith Great God 


This quote captured me as I felt it was another piece of the puzzle toward learning to live awake, full of the light of Christ.

I operate on faith every morning that when I draw back the curtains the light through the window will expose a view that will provide me with particular information.

I have confidence that when I open the drapes the scene through the window will reveal if I need to scrape the ice off the windshield on the car, if my neighbours are out and about, whether the squirrels are putting on their aerial show in the trees above or if the cardinals have been kind enough to drop by for a visit.

The size of the window matters because that will determine what I am able to see.

When it comes to living in the light of Christ, is the window of my faith too small?

What do I really expect to see?  

Do I live with confidence that when I open the word, pray or walk through the day that Christ is alighting on, in, and through me?

Is my faith situational, based on circumstances or feelings?

Does my faith rest in Christ or the comfort and guidance of others?

Wright eloquently describes that the secret of faith is to believe and live in the strength of God’s power.

“not according to how we feel or according to whether we are happy doing the particular task assigned to us for the moment. …The current carries the swimmer along with it.  He or she has to swim too, of course, but with the help of the current the swimmer can go further and faster, and with less effort, than by his or her own power.  And so it is when our weakness swims in the stream of God’s almighty power.  Our God is the God who gives power to the faint.”

Maybe that is why I am so exhausted.  I forget to allow the current of God to carry me.

What if we swim in the stream of His almighty power rather than by our own effort?

In order to see God, receive and reflect His light...we need the window of faith.

Faith cannot be obtained by our own effort.

We must also be careful to not take credit for our faith.  If we receive answers to our prayers we must refrain from the temptation to boast and take pride in our faith, as if we had something to do with it.

I am reminded that everything, even faith, belongs to God.

Faith is a precious gift of grace from our Father.

Thankfully He is the author and perfecter of our faith. (Hebrews 12:2)

It is God who will give us the faith so that His very own light will radiate in and through us.  Therefore, we can boast not in our faith, but in God alone.



Father, thank you for your Son, the author and perfecter of our faith.  Enlarge the window of my faith so that your light can shine through. 

"Send forth your light and your truth,   


let them guide me; let them bring me to your holy mountain,
to the place where you dwell."
  ~ Psalm 43: 3

Amen

May God open wide the window of our hearts to let the light of Christ flood through every room of our interior castle.

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