The First Step
It has been said that the hardest
part of any journey is the first step. After that, the way becomes a little smoother
and soon the ability to string many steps together becomes almost second
nature, but we've all known the difficulty of taking that first step. It may have
involved actually starting a long discussed diet or learning to drive a car or
committing the first sentence of a novel to paper, but whatever the project that
beginning step is always the longest, steepest, slipperiest of the entire trip.
This same principle applies
to our journey of faith. We know where we need to go. We understand the goal. We
see the obstacles ahead. But, all our evaluation and thinking and considerations
are useless until we perform that first awesome step.
The writer of Hebrews clearly
describes faith's first step as being composed of two distinct parts; something
like putting our weight on one foot then completing the process by putting our
weight on the other. Each movement is incomplete alone but together they make
the first step.
Part A of our first step is
to believe that God is. That sounds simple enough but when the battle is not going
as we expected and the giants are suddenly up-close and personal, do we still
believe He is really "there." Is God still a living being who knows us and is
aware of our circumstance and hears our prayers? Or, does He fade into an
abstract concept? Does God have substance and life or is He no more than a
faceless, impersonal, unpredictable power?
Part B of our first step is described
in equally clear terms. We must not only believe God exists-that He is-but also
believe that He will reward us personally when we honestly seek Him.
I've often found Part B the
most difficult of all. When I'm totally honest, I'll admit I sometimes feel
like Charlie Brown at Trick-or-Treat. I walk up to the door with all the other
children and expectantly hold out my sack just like them. God puts wonderful,
sweet treats in everyone else's sack and drops a rock in mine. When feelings
like that overwhelm, can I still believe that God is a rewarder? Can I insist
that my feelings are false and risk believing that-just like the Bible says-God
will reward those who seek Him?
Paul often assured Christians
that, although they are secure in the love of Jesus, they also never grow past
repeating the same first step that brought them to the Lord [1] When our
spiritual journey has stalled and we're stuck on the path, the only way to get
moving again is to repeat the hard work of taking that first, terrible step. We
must believe our God is real and that He rewards those who trust Him.
Indeed, I must believe that He
will reward me.
