Forward Facing Faith

I want to have a living breathing faith that grows and moves ahead, but to do that I need to move myself forward or at least lean that way.

BUT, there does seem to be something treacherous going on in me because I find I like the idea of moving forward more than the actual working faith that it will take to do it.

I don't want to stay the same, yet I want to change without things changing around me.

Bottom line, I do not want to stay where I'm at today in my faith,

no matter how good that is, but especially true if it's a bad place.

This requires a constant leaning forward, a looking up ahead to things that will be and not being content with the Status Quo no matter how comfortable that seems to be at the time.

Like the Apostle Paul said, and he accomplished enough for three lifetimes,

... I keep going on, trying to grasp that purpose for which Christ Jesus grasped me. My brothers, I do not consider myself to have grasped it fully even now. 

But I do concentrate on this:

I forget all that lies behind me and WITH HANDS OUTSTRETCHED to whatever lies ahead I GO straight for the goal – 

my reward the honour of my high calling by God in Christ Jesus.-Philippians 3:12-14

There is a price to pay for NOT moving forward that is greater than the cost of proceeding forward, for faith once it has been birthed in a soul never really dies nor will it be denied.

In the bible, very often growing trees and flowing rivers are used to describe a growing and flowing life.

If the tree isn't watered and tended it withers, dies and turns to fertilizer.

The river if it stops flowing turns into a swamp and only snakes, lizards and crocs live there.

The cost of moving forward is the tree being occasionally trimmed which hurts but causes continued growth. And, the rivers can and will flood their banks from time to time. The waves will get boisterous and come near to drown us, and some things will come to a painful end, but the seeds from these must be buried deep so they can one day grow into the great shade trees they were designed to be.

We're not the people we were twenty years ago or even yesterday, and it will take a lot of leaning into the wind and rowing against the tide to get us to our tomorrows. 

I couldn't see it back then but as I look back now I can see that a Forward Facing Faith no matter how much, fear, sweat and sacrifice has been worth it.

To stay the same would have been a life filled with regret. 

Nobody wants that.

We need to strive for life rather than just survive.