Pillars Of Faith

‘No, the Father himself loves you because you have loved me and have believed that I came from God.’  John 16:27 (NIV)

All those who have based our beliefs in God and religion do so upon a few certain pillars.  Have we ever considered what those few primary beliefs are?  Have we ever made a list or written them down?  Have we ever worked out for ourselves just what it is that we believe when we talk about God?  We come to religion for something.  What is it?  What is it that draws us to look towards Heaven?  Christians take ahold of the Great Gift that we have found in Jesus Christ.  Do we know why we do that?  How present in our hearts and in our minds do we hold to our Pillars of faith?

It is upon these pillars of what we believe about God, Christ and the Bible, that our faith is built.  It is what constitutes our religion.  It is what defines us as Christians.  We are not talking about which denomination we come from or which manner we like to interpret doctrines taught in the Bible.  We are not considering the out-workings or practices each denomination follows.  We are not talking about the resulting changes in standards which we later establish and try to attain and keep.  These all stem from our base beliefs in God.  They do not and should not substitute our pillars of faith.  Rather, they are results that follow once we have formed a strong foundation built hopefully upon the character and nature of our God and His Son.

What we do want to consider here is where mankind stands in relation to the God Who reigns on High.  What claims can we have and what relation can we have with the Almighty Creator?  Much of this lies squarely upon Who we believe God Is.  Who Is He exactly and what is He capable of?  Would this be crucially important for every believer to get straight very early on?  If our God is small or weak, than how much will we be able to receive from getting to know Him further?  But if our God is without limits, then how much more can come from our approach to Him?  If our God is big enough and powerful enough, than would “the sky be the limit?”  Could we have that “Sky” for our very own?  If our faith in this Great Pillar is strong enough, than could our “Sky” come and miraculously fit into our frail mortal frames?  Do we believe that the Almighty God can come to us and make His home with us and within us?  Is He the strong pillar we have to hold us up?

Right next to our first Pillar stands one more which is just as crucial.  It makes the first Pillar infinitely more effective in holding us and securing our ultimate strength.  This second Pillar would be where we stand on Jesus Christ.  Those blessed enough to have a faith grounded in this all-important Pillar for Mankind, have a Gift and a Foundation exceedingly stronger than concrete, steel or rock!  They have something stronger than anything they can think or do to hold themselves up.  They have the Son and the Father to lean on!  Their Pillars cannot fail!  They will never be weakened!  They will never be shaken!

There are more Pillars of faith for those grounded in the Father and the Son above all else.  Our text mentions love.  But could we also quickly add the immediate Presence of the Holy Spirit? Would these make our foundation eternally secure?  The sincere Christian has much to stand on.  Could it be a great time to check our Pillars of Faith?  How squarely are we leaning upon Them?

Dear Jesus,

You tell us that God loves us directly.  Please let the weight of that press down upon us now!  Let it form the foundation on which we stand upon today!  Then open our eyes to see how strong our Pillars are.  Show us now how You hold us up?  Let our Pillars of faith be in the God who loves us we pray!

Amen