Daring Faith

"Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by what I do." 
James 2:18

I was reading an old journal of mine the other day. On one page I had written the words, 'DARING FAITH' in big, bold letters. It was the only thing on the page. When I read that, it reminded me of a scene from our family's past. In the 1990s, we owned a boat and had a small trailer at a nearby lake. Our kids were teenagers then and we often took day trips to the lake to play. One day, we went to the other side of the lake where there were some high rock outcroppings. People would climb up there and jump into the lake. The cliffs were forty to sixty feet tall. My son, Nathan had jumped from the cliffs many times and he wanted to do it. Our daughter, Kristen decided she would do it as well. Our oldest daughter, Amber reluctantly agreed to give it a try. They jumped out of the boat, climbed up the hill and situated themselves on the cliffs. Nathan jumped immediately, because he had done it before. Kristen also jumped fairly quickly, showing her daredevil side. But Amber stood on the cliff for a long time. While the other kids jumped several times, Amber was still standing there trying to work up the nerves to jump. A couple of times she tried, but backed out at the last second. Finally, she jumped and safely made the forty foot plunge into the lake.
    Faith is like that. Some of us have an easier time with faith. Our personalities are suited for it. We are willing to believe God and all that he says. We know his Word is true. Some of us even have the fearlessness to jump out with faith. But some of us struggle with that. The believing part is not so difficult, but the action part eludes us. Notice that it was easy for Nathan to make the jump, because he had done it many times before. It was more difficult for Kristen, but she overcame fear and jumped. It was most difficult for Amber. She had never done it and her personality is not a daring one. But she overcame her fears and timidity and did it.
    I know that all of us fit into one of these categories. We may be experienced people of faith. We may be people with little fear, so launching into something that requires faith is easy for us. Some may also be timid. There is a struggle that takes place inside us before we work up the courage to follow through. But faith that really is faith requires two things: Belief and action. Your faith is not made complete until you act on it. The apostle James said later in that same chapter, "You believe there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that and shudder." You see, belief is not faith. It is part of faith. The completion is acting on what you believe.
    Let me challenge you. What has God asked you to do where you have not followed through? It could be a life-changing thing or it could be a simple thing. He may have asked you to move or change your life in some significant way. He may have asked you simply to go and pray for someone you know. Whatever he has said, whatever your faith challenge is, complete it by taking the appropriate action. Here is the great part: The more you do it, the easier it becomes. Now that is DARING FAITH!