How do you revive “faith”?

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 How do you revive “faith”?

A friend asked me this as the parting question for our conversation, saying, he has become sort of "faithless" at the moment. 

It was an automatic answer for me to say.. “… my family brought me back to it.”

Backslider-- the term used for people who used to be a church member but suddenly ceased to go to church, support ministry and who ever had decided to turn their back away from the Christ-like way of life.

I used to be one though I can’t still consider myself as a full-pledged Christian at the moment. Every time I get to recall the things I had done in the past, I can only wish for the earth to swallow me. I have gone beyond the borders of failed expectations and had given into temptations a lot of times before. Well, I still do, every now and then.

Today’s sermon was entitled Divine Discipline. It talks about how God’s ways of “chastening” aka challenges in life as a result of our worldly actions, should be embraced as a Christian. It had a huge blow on my spirit. I am not yet fully healed from God’s chastisement. Will I even get fully-healed? Can I really be seen as a totally new person after all the divine reminders I had to go through?

As I look back on to those shaky moments of my faith, I am so grateful that my parents especially my father had not given up on me. My mother, the silent type that she is, would always give her gentle reminders. My siblings, they know how to put things into lighter conversations, they never made me feel separated nor different. I was always that childish, choosy, nagging “Ate” that they know of.

Acceptance of my shortcomings made me revive my faith.

Having my family made me revive my faith.

Right now, I still make mistakes coz I’m not perfect but having the chance to reflect on the divine discipline I had undergone got me rewarded with a more peaceful life. Striving for righteousness at all times is still the major struggle. I know I am a weak soul and I had learned that the best way to not commit sin, is to run away from it. Running away from it is the major, major struggle.

Yet, I still have faith and I am not sure if I was able to answer the question.

So, how does one revive faith? Maybe, it is something that can never be lost once imbibed, you just really have to go back to where you got it from.  


Comments

  1. Kayni8 August 2016 at 01:39

    I agree that our families can be our good influence in terms of faith. Without my parents, especially, Mom, I would not have found my path back to Him. Happy weekend!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. yccos8 August 2016 at 19:24

      It was a great weekend :)

      Have a blessed week ahead!

      Delete
  2. Pepe v2.08 August 2016 at 18:49

    Thank you for sharing this reflection.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. yccos8 August 2016 at 19:25

      Writing it here is merely for journal purposes but yeah, hope you gained something from it. Hehe.

      Thanks for dropping by as always :)

      Delete
  3. Mr. Tripster10 August 2016 at 07:08

    I wouldn't want to be called backslider. I prefer the word APOSTATE. It's a badass term for any prolific church polemicist. LOL! But to be called one is really a terrible thing. It is one thing to be not fervent of the faith, it's another thing to abandon it willfully.

    Faith is a bitch sometimes. I clung to it for so long, asking for a miracle. But here i am, still embracing something that condemns me. But what the heck.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Your Regular Average Guy12 August 2016 at 23:06

    Been a backslider many times before. And like you, can't fully embrace being a full-pledged Christian, too.

    But one day.

    Hang in there, too. Sister.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Anonymous14 August 2016 at 17:32

    Just a point of view.

    I believe that faith never left any of us. For me, it's already a footprint of a human being.

    It's only sitting in the back of our consciousness, waiting to be tapped again by a certain event or by our own will to regain it.

    If someone ask you again with the same question, I can suggest to say this:

    "Your faith was never lost neither you in any sense. You're like Adam/Eve who have eaten the forbidden fruit that gains knowledge and consciousness of everything that surrounds you. But remember, God never left you even if you have taken a different path than his plans. You can visit him anytime and anywhere by simply saying a little prayer."

    :)

    ReplyDelete

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