Faith is Proven
Children’s faith is proven by their simple understanding of how they relate to others and their actions; which is how we as adults do it as well. What is faith? How do we know if a child has it, or how do we know it is real? These are questions that we are called to help them in their walk with Jesus. Faith is an intangible gift from God. You can’t see it or feel or smell it or touch it, but it is real. Faith is proven not by our feelings but by our way of walking, trusting God for each new step along a path He has ordered in eternity past. It is, as James said, proven by our works. Paul says we prove it by presenting our bodies as a sacrifice—alive, holy, and pleasing to God. Those seem abstract to children but we can make it come to real life through how we teach and model it before others. Is our love pure and without hypocrisy? Are we teaching and modeling this gift? Love is the highest and greatest gift to God and mankind. That is the real test of faith.
We may have children who seem weak in their faith. How then do we engage them and encourage them? We do it by not judging them for their walk but assisting them practically. We “who are strong [in our faith] ought to bear with the failings of the weak, and not just please ourselves.” [Rom 15:1 author addition] We teach it through the stories Jesus has left us in the gospels. We teach it by modeling to others what real faith is by our works and our acceptance of others.
Remember our faith doesn’t look inwardly but outwardly in the demonstration of our faith to others.
sonshine
Coordinator of the Heartprints Blog Page: Gaye-Ellen Austin or SonShine has a passion to train people to be successful Bible students, following the words of Paul to his protégé Timothy: “ entrust to faithful people who will be competent to teach others as well.” (2 Tim 2:2). She taught 15 years in public schools and 12 years in a Christian school where she was coordinator of the NILD program for learning disabled students. She has taught Precept upon Precept classes and was a discussion group leader for 10+ yrs. in BSF in Daytona Beach. Fl. and Atlanta, GA. Also, Gaye-Ellen is the writer for the https://www.facebook.com/bible.org/ She also has her own personal blog page: https://sonshinesjournal.com/ David is a full time director for Bible.org as well as his secular job. He and Gaye-Ellen along with their son, Dr. Mark Austin, daughter-in-law, Dr. Blanca Austin and granddaughter Christina (https://christinaaustinlopez.com.) live in the Dallas area. Gaye-Ellen's goal is to present Christ and live Christ glorifying God. One of her favorite verses about the role as parents, teachers, and adults for the next generation comes from Psalm 78:4, "but tell to the generation to come the praises of the Lord."
