Navigating through this thing called “life” can be extremely difficult. I don’t believe it is necessary for us to shy away from that reality. I think at times, we try to mask the difficulties of Christianity and our lives in general, hoping that people will not be turned off by it. I believe when we do this, this is to the detriment of the Gospel.
One of the most basic principles that must be understood is that we need the sacrifice of Jesus for atonement. In order to stand forgiven and to be made righteous by God, we must believe and trust in the work of Jesus on the cross. Obedience to the faith will automatically come forth when a person truly believes in God and recognizes their need for salvation.
With this being said, we need to show people that we are truly relying on God. When we find ourselves going through a traumatic, difficult, possibly compromising experiences – it is during these times that we need to live out our faith the most!
Ultimately, I believe there’s a bigger issue going on when we see ourselves shying away from our faith and God – apostasy. I know, that is a pretty big leap but just hear me out before you put this article down.
Apostasy is falling away from the faith. How does this idea of shying away from a difficult life equate to apostasy. For starters, we are failing to show people the faith we have. We pretend and act like everything is OK. We fail to show people that we are recognizing God and relying on Him to help us through the current distress that we find ourselves in. Overall, this translates because it conditions us to not have faith in God. It is the illusory truth effect. Over time, we have repeatedly exposed ourselves to a life without God and eventually, this will be the reality for ourselves.
Paul said in Romans 1:16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. – Each and every day that we fail to recognize God in our lives is one day closer to apostatizing.
by Lee Elkins
