A Better Insight Into Faith
6 “[And I pray] that the participation in and sharing of your faith may produce and promote full recognition and appreciation and understanding and precise knowledge of every good [thing] that is ours in [our identification with] Christ Jesus [and UNTO His glory].” Philemon 6 Amplified Bible
Philemon is not one of the books of the New Testament that many people spend a lot of time in. But we see in Paul’s letter one of the great insights into faith! Paul tells us that there is a product that results from our sharing our faith. That product is that we get a better understanding of the many good things, the promises of Jesus Christ for us. The more we share our faith, the more we come to see and understand the promises of Jesus and the more we see and understand our identification with Jesus and the glory of His victories already established for us.
Today, are you confident in the promises of Jesus has for you personally in this life? Would you say that you know and understand all of His varied and bountiful blessings and promises? Do you know what is yours and just as importantly, do you know how to receive them and firmly possess each one? If you cannot answer those questions with confidence, then perhaps you should consider becoming more active in sharing your faith. You don’t have to go house to house and knock on doors, but look for those daily opportunities to share what you know about Jesus.
If your first thought is that you don’t know that much to be able to share, don’t worry. All you have to do is share what you know. If you know only the saving grace of Jesus, then you already have a great gift to share with others who don’t know how much Jesus loves them. Share what you know and He will reveal to you even greater understanding of His love for you and His great promises already prepared for you. Share what you know and Jesus will give a heightened appreciation for all that He has given you. The more you understand and appreciate the blessings and favors of Jesus, the more you will walk in the fullness of those promises, the more you will see the supernatural. Then with each one of those experiences will come even more of your faith that you can share with others.
This was Paul’s prayer for Philemon and us, that we would be active in the sharing of our faith. Paul personally experienced the ever growing recognition of the deeper things of Jesus for him as he shared his faith. Learning that lesson himself, he wanted us to receive the same fullness of the good things of Jesus Christ in our lives. Share your faith today and watch the promised produce in your life.
J Todd Hostetler