“Rain Check” 

Dear Faith Family, 

For by grace you have been saved through faith.  And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast, (Ephesians 2:8-9). 

Ribeye Roast on sale for $5.97 a pound?  Yes please!  Unfortunately, the local grocery store was sold out.  No problem.  Rain check, please.  I’ve had the rain check now for over a month.  Problem.  The local grocery store doesn’t have any roasts.  So, the rain check is useless.  It’s connected to nonexistent ribeye roasts.  I tried grilling the rain check, (insert a pause here - long enough for you to ask, “Is he really that dumb?”).  No, I didn’t grill the rain check.  But the point remains, you can’t eat a rain check. 

Faith is kind of like a rain check, right?  How so?  Well, without an object, it is useless.  In fact, without the right object faith is still useless.  Let’s be real here.  You have faith.  I have faith.  Everybody has faith.  Even demons have faith (James 2:19).  We believe that the light we encounter in the morning comes from the sun.  That’s faith.  We believe that the light switch on the wall will turn on the bulbs in the light fixture, (We even believe that when the power is off!  No? – How many times have you flipped a switch after the power goes off?!)  That’s faith.  Everybody believes something.  Our faith, however, doesn’t make something so. 

When it comes to salvation, faith has to be anchored to the right, existing object.  Faith does not save us.  Instead, Jesus saves us by His grace.  Faith is necessary.  It is the instrument through which Jesus saves us.  But objectless, or faith anchored to the wrong object is useless.  This is where God’s Word reaps eternal dividends.  Who is the object of our faith?  Is it the Christ of the Bible?  Or is it a construct of our own hearts?  It makes all the difference in the world (and in the world to come)! 

To establish faith, know the Christ of Scripture.  Put your faith in Him.  To bolster faith, encounter the faithfulness of the object of your faith.  To strengthen faith, experience the power of the object of your faith.   

Interesting side note: our understanding of the faithfulness and the power of the object of our faith grows exponentially when we come to the end of our own resources.  You know, the place where we’re desperate for our God to demonstrate His faithfulness and His power. 

I can almost taste that medium-rare, thick ribeye steak, still steaming as it exits the grill.  You see, it’s the object of my rain check that gives my rain check its value. 

What gives your faith its value? 

Fixed on Jesus, the object of my faith, 
Pastor Karl