Second-Hand Faith
Read Acts 19:8-17.
Being the oldest child in my family, I rarely got hand-me-downs. I was at the "top of the food chain," so when I outgrew clothes, they got handed down to my brother. I got the new stuff, he got the leftovers. I have to tell you, that felt pretty good...until the day came when he outgrew me, and I started getting "hand-me-ups." "Here," I would be told, "your younger brother has outgrown this. Do you want it?" What's that about pride going before something...?
There are lots of things, though, we can pass along to the next person in order to save money. Since we had children of two different genders, the "hand-me-down" thing only worked for a short while. They rarely wore their clothes long enough to wear them out, so we began to pass along clothes to the children of friends who were younger. Similarly, we have passed along electronics that have been replaced, books that we no longer need but someone else might benefit from and so on. (People also tend to be great about passing on advice, whether the other person wants it or not!)
The only thing we can't pass along directly is our faith. A few preachers in Ephesus learned that in a very...painful...way. Paul is at a point in his ministry where there is great success in this wealthy and important city—and any time there is success, there are always those who want to imitate or at least cash in on it. So, we're told, some Jews (Luke doesn't even say they are believers in Jesus so they may just be some opportunists) go around and begin to try to cast out demons as Paul had done. Only they do it in the name of "Jesus whom Paul preaches." That's at least second-hand faith, maybe third-hand. The problem? Faith doesn't work like that. While we can pass it on (and should), we cannot pass it down. These men learned that in a dramatic way as they are confronted by a demon who calls them on it. "Jesus I know, and Paul I know...but who are you?" And the man with the demon beats them within an inch of their lives.
You can't have second-hand faith. Faith has to be embraced individually, integrated into your life. It's not like a piece of clothing you put on and take off. It's not a gadget that you use because someone else said it was neat. Faith is first-hand, or, as one my seminary professors once put it, "God has no grandchildren, only children."
Are you trusting in someone else's faith? What keeps you from having your own faith?
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| Ephesus, 2014 |
There are lots of things, though, we can pass along to the next person in order to save money. Since we had children of two different genders, the "hand-me-down" thing only worked for a short while. They rarely wore their clothes long enough to wear them out, so we began to pass along clothes to the children of friends who were younger. Similarly, we have passed along electronics that have been replaced, books that we no longer need but someone else might benefit from and so on. (People also tend to be great about passing on advice, whether the other person wants it or not!)
The only thing we can't pass along directly is our faith. A few preachers in Ephesus learned that in a very...painful...way. Paul is at a point in his ministry where there is great success in this wealthy and important city—and any time there is success, there are always those who want to imitate or at least cash in on it. So, we're told, some Jews (Luke doesn't even say they are believers in Jesus so they may just be some opportunists) go around and begin to try to cast out demons as Paul had done. Only they do it in the name of "Jesus whom Paul preaches." That's at least second-hand faith, maybe third-hand. The problem? Faith doesn't work like that. While we can pass it on (and should), we cannot pass it down. These men learned that in a dramatic way as they are confronted by a demon who calls them on it. "Jesus I know, and Paul I know...but who are you?" And the man with the demon beats them within an inch of their lives.
You can't have second-hand faith. Faith has to be embraced individually, integrated into your life. It's not like a piece of clothing you put on and take off. It's not a gadget that you use because someone else said it was neat. Faith is first-hand, or, as one my seminary professors once put it, "God has no grandchildren, only children."
Are you trusting in someone else's faith? What keeps you from having your own faith?
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