the unexpected good
  • Home
  • Blog
  • About
  • Videos
  • Contact
a blog for Christian women about

discovering joy

in the challenges of singleness,
marriage, motherhood, chronic illness,
​and every day faith

Am I really a Christian?

8/12/2014

0 Comments

 
Picture
Have you ever asked yourself: “Am I really a Christian?” Over and over, I have witnessed powerful fears in women, myself included. One exhausted woman told me: “I am tired of this. I hate my sin. I hate my hypocrisy. I’m just done with it all.”

Another shared: “When I constantly struggling with the same thing, I can see how people can begin to doubt their salvation.”

There are certainly cases in which true conversion has not occurred. But there are also many cases in which one’s Christianity is doubted needlessly.

The Process of Growth
Suppose a baby in the process of being weaned begins to eat “real food,” and then declares, “Now I can see the weakness of breast milk in comparison to real food! I have not been truly growing until now!” The baby then despises the milk that nourished it from its first day of life.

Later on, the baby’s new-grown toddler teeth allow it to graduate from pureed baby food to adult meals. The toddler states, “I must now be eating for the first time in my life! How deluded I was to think that I could grow on mush!” The toddler then believes that only adult food is nutritious, and views younger children who drink milk or who eat baby food with patronizing pity.
Picture
Can’t you see that this is what we do when we constantly expect our faith to be all grown-up before it can be faith at all? When Jesus Christ said that whoever would enter Heaven must have faith like a little child (Matthew 18:3), He was pointing out that a child’s faith is very simple and immature, but it still counts.

No one receives a fully-grown faith from the very beginning. Every stage of faith teaches us something new, but that does not mean that every previous stage was unbelief and the current stage is true belief. How can we take the third step if we have not taken the first and second?

2 Corinthians 4:16 
Therefore we do not lose heart. Even though our outward man is perishing, yet the inward man is being renewed day by day.
The Process of Healing
Remember, Jesus did not come for the well; He came for the sick. Yes, His patients are not supposed to remain in their sickness, but every treatment takes time. We are saved once, but the process of sanctification (becoming holy) takes a lifetime. For example, a diseased person may become well, but a healthy lifestyle and good habits are necessary to maintain that good health. We don’t usually expect that person to exhibit robust health for every single day of her life, but we do expect to see an overall trend of health.
Picture
It is the same with the Christian life. Sin is a part of living on earth. We need not expect the Christian to exhibit perfection consistently, but we should expect to see the work of the Holy Spirit as He weeds out sin and plants fruits of righteousness. It’s a lifetime process. 

We cannot let the Holy Spirit do His work if we panic when we don’t see fruit in the time-table that we expect, any more than we can garden well if we keep digging up the seeds we have planted to see if they have sprouted yet. Look at the lifetime, not the day.

The Real Christian Life
If you’re not sure whether you’re saved, the question “Am I really saved?” is still irrelevant, because nothing prevents you from living for Jesus Christ from this moment on. 
Picture
The real Christian life is not about constantly looking over your shoulder to see if you are truly God’s child. The real Christian life is steeped in the power and confidence of the Holy Spirit, and in the knowledge that we may come boldly—not cringing—before the throne of grace to find mercy in time of need (Hebrews 4:16).

Stop second-guessing your salvation. Step out with a child’s faith and let your relationship with the Lord grow naturally.

Picture

Like this post? Subscribe to the email list!

* indicates required
0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

      Never miss a post.

    Subscribe to Email List
    Picture

    Meet Yaasha

    None of my life has gone the way it was "supposed to go," but I don't love my life any less because of the hardships and new directions. I see so much unexpected good in it, and I want others to see the good in theirs.

    Learn more about me here.


    Picture

    Archives

    May 2020
    April 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    October 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    May 2017
    April 2017
    February 2017
    May 2016
    March 2016
    January 2016
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013


    Categories

    All
    Adoption
    Bible Verse
    Book Excerpt
    Book Excerpts
    Christian Community
    Chronic Illness
    Courtship
    Dating
    Depression
    Discovering Joy
    Evangelism
    Excellent Relationships
    Faith
    Family Relationships
    Fearless
    Forgiveness
    God And Christianity
    Godly Womanhood
    How We See Ourselves
    Identity
    Incredible Journey
    Joy
    Life Direction
    Marriage
    Ministry
    Miscarriage
    Motherhood
    Our Story
    Overcoming Sin
    Persecution
    Poetry
    Prayer
    Pro-life
    Ready For Him Today
    Relationship With God
    Service To Others
    Singleness
    Spiritual Growth
    Suffering
    Womanhood

Proudly powered by Weebly
  • Home
  • Blog
  • About
  • Videos
  • Contact