Faith Tested Grows

No surgeon, though taking the greatest of care,
Ev'ry tendon, bone, and organ of man,
In section-slide for microscope prepare,
Will see the source of man's faith in God's plan.
Faith is trust; no cell in body or brain
Manufactures trust; only God provides,
And then it must be used, or quickly drain;
Faith untested, like strength, never abides.
You believe? Great! Now, be e'er more trusting;
Practice your faith; make it stronger each day;
Like a climber, climb, e'er upward thrusting,
For confidence in Jesus to never sway!
If the jump is wide, trust Jesus and leap;
He stays constant His promises to keep!

Paul told the believers in Galatia, "The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love." (Galatians 5:6) All you have to do here in this life is to love others as Jesus loved you. Here's a small way to build your faith. The more you show love to others , the greater your faith grows. Suppose a friend has offended you in some way. What your human inclination to do in return is to get even by returning an insult to the friend, or maybe, just to grieve in silence. But doing either is not showing love as Jesus showed. Instead of following your usual course of action, swallow your pride and do something unusual and nice for your friend, like sending flowers, or a card, or inviting him to lunch. You will be surprised to find how your friend reacts. Your friendship will grow, and so will your trust in Jesus.

If doing a nice thing in return for offense by a friend is growing your love for others, imagine how it feels if you do the same for an 'enemy'. In every job or situation, even in church work, there is someone who hampers your feelings, or is a "thorn in the flesh". Out of the blue, do something nice for the 'enemy'. That is more difficult for you to do, and it will require greater faith to attempt, but in doing so you will be "heaping coals of fire on his head". In the Bible God says,

"If your enemy is hungry, feed him;
\If he is thirsty, give him something to drink.
In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head."
(Romans 12:20; Proverbs 25:21-22)

Doing nice things for friends is great for building faith; doing the same for 'enemies' is much greater, for it may turn one completely around. This is why Jesus told us to "turn the other cheek" when struck on one side.