So, where do we start to build our basic decision-making philosophy? In Matthew 22:37-40 Jesus was asked what the greatest commandments were, and He replied, “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’This is the first and greatest commandment.And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”
If all the Law and the Prophets, which is most of the Old Testament, hang on these two commands, how can we use them as the basic decision-making philosophy? If there is that much depth in the first five words in the Bible, imagine the depth of understanding we can glean from the rest of Scripture about relationships with God and others, how to manage day-to-day path choices, how to deal with people that think different than we do, what is truly important in our time here on earth, etc. The list is as long as all the questions in the world, but the answers are all there. Even when we cannot find the answer, “Sometimes the questions bring us better answers than our answers ever will.” God is beyond our comprehension, but He is the only logical answer. Jesus said, “Follow Me.” He knows the right path, the narrow road. Let Him lead you there.
The Path of Faith that leads to Hope which leads to Love.
1 Corinthians 13:13 And now these three remain: faith, hope, and love. But the greatest of these is love.
The following questions are a progression of faith. If you get stuck on one, talk to a trusted friend.
Do you believe God created everything?
Gen 1:1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.
Do you have faith to believe Jesus is God and He is the Creator?
John 1:1-14 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was with God in the beginning. 3 Through Him all things were made; without Him nothing was made that has been made. 4 In Him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. 5 The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.
6 There was a man sent from God whose name was John. 7 He came as a witness to testify concerning that Light, so that through Him all might believe. 8 He himself was not the Light; he came only as a witness to the Light.
9 The true Light that gives light to everyone was coming into the world. 10 He was in the world, and though the world was made through Him, the world did not recognize Him. 11 He came to that which was His own, but His own did not receive Him. 12 Yet to all who did receive Him, to those who believed in His name, He gave the right to become children of God— 13 children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God.
14 The Word became flesh and made His dwelling among us. We have seen His glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.
Do you have the faith to believe that God the Father sent Jesus to make it possible for us to live eternally with Him?
John 3:16 For God so loved the world that He gave His One and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.
Do you believe you must be born again, “Spirit gives birth to spirit”?
John 3:1-7 Now there was a Pharisee, a man named Nicodemus who was a member of the Jewish ruling council. 2 He came to Jesus at night and said, “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who has come from God. For no one could perform the signs You are doing if God were not with Him.”
3 Jesus replied, “Very truly I tell you, no one can see the Kingdom of God unless they are born again.
4 “How can someone be born when they are old?” Nicodemus asked. “Surely they cannot enter a second time into their mother’s womb to be born!”
5 Jesus answered, “Very truly I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless they are born of water and the Spirit. 6 Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit. 7 You should not be surprised at my saying, ‘You must be born again.’
Do you believe having the Holy Spirit in you gives you hope?
Acts 2:38-39 38 Peter replied, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. 39 The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off—for all whom the Lord our God will call.”
Does your hope allow the Fruit of the Spirit to show in your life?
Galatians 5:22-26 22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. 24 Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. 25 Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. 26 Let us not become conceited, provoking, and envying each other.
Do you know what gift the Holy Spirit has given you to use in the Body of Christ?
1 Corinthians 12:7-11 7 Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good. 8 To one there is given through the Spirit a message of wisdom, to another a message of knowledge by means of the same Spirit, 9 to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by that one Spirit, 10 to another miraculous powers, to another prophecy, to another distinguishing between spirits, to another speaking in different kinds of tongues, and to still another the interpretation of tongues. 11 All these are the work of one and the same Spirit, and he distributes them to each one, just as he determines.
God’s definition of love.
1 Corinthians 13:4-8 4 Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5 It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6 Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7 It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. 8 Love never fails.
Love is the foundation.
1 Corinthians 13:13 And now these three remain: faith, hope, and love. But the greatest of these is love.
The distinguishing characteristics of a Christian are the Fruit of the Spirit and God’s definition of love showing through in their lives. So, what does the narrow path in God’s Kingdom look like? Jesus said, “I assure you that whoever does not receive the Kingdom of God like a child will never enter it.” (Matt 10:13-15; Mark 10:13-16; Luke 18:15-17)
This passage is glossed over most of the time, but what was happening? People were bringing their children to Jesus to have Him bless them. The disciples tried to stop them assuming Jesus had more important people to minister to. Jesus then rebuked the disciples and let the children come to Him and sit by Him. I think most of the time the passage is seen as Jesus being kind to children. Obviously, He was, but was that His message to the crowd?
I have come to believe that child-like faith is the path we choose or reject, a statement of total faith, no doubt in Jesus, His words, His Kingdom, and His promise. So much of scripture has a double meaning. There is the meaning relating to the “physical world” and there is a meaning in the “spiritual world.” A good example of that is Jesus’ healing of a blind man in John 9. Toward the end of the chapter, John 9:39, Jesus said, “I came to this world to judge, so that the blind should see and those who see should become blind”; physical and spiritual. We will discuss the blind man later.
So how does a child receive the Kingdom of God? What kind of faith does a child have? Who do you think the children thought Jesus was? We read these passages two thousand years later with the “vision of history” on our side. These were kids brought to a nice man to set on His lap and have Him talk to them. Their parents were following Jesus, but the children were just there with their parents. Was Jesus talking about the children receiving the Kingdom of God?
Again, there is a double meaning. The children were extremely comfortable talking to this gentle man. His countenance made them feel very safe. His words were comforting. They “received” Him openly. But Jesus was talking about the Kingdom. He was saying it takes “faith like a child” to enter the Kingdom.
What creates this faith? Think about a child raised by loving, caring, nurturing parents. There is no doubt in their mind that their needs will be taken care of. In fact, they do not even think about it. It is a given. How many times have we seen a father throw his toddler in the air and catch them again? The child laughs with delight. They have no fear of falling. They know their father will catch them. They have total faith, the faith of a child.
Are you starting to see the spiritual parallel? Do you have “faith like a child”? Do you ever worry about your Heavenly Father “dropping you”? Do you believe He will care for you, or do you believe you need to make the decisions for yourself? You need to choose the “path”. I think our first reaction to this question would be to say we do not believe He will drop us but, if that is true, why do we hold on so tightly to the “things of this world”? To paraphrase the great philosopher Yoda from Star Wars, “You either have faith or do not have faith, there is no trying to have faith.”
Faith like a child allows us to have no fear of the unknown and no worry about the future. If we have faith like a child, we know we will not “fall.” Then we will have “eyes to see” the Kingdom all around us. Jesus was saying if you do not have that kind of faith, faith like a child, you will never enter it. You either believe Him or you do not. Which “path” you choose, the narrow path or the wide path, is the ultimate path decision in your life.
Christian Life Coach 