A Working Faith

Philemon 6

As a businessman, my job was to be a want creator, but my goal was to turn that want into a need.  Much of my life in sales was spent changing the mind of a person who was using a technology that worked, a proven technology that often was out of date.   My job was to make them desire a newer or better way to do the same job.  Becoming effective was essential, but how to do that became my focus; and I was taught that working hard and long hours was the answer.  But it was not long before it became apparent that learning to work smarter, being cognizant of my prospects time and my time, and understanding the customers needs, problems, and wants, made me more effective.  But efficiency happens when the salesperson assimilates their understanding of customer problems, wants, and needs into his presentation of how this new technology not only solves the problem, but also makes money, in my case by not having down time.  It is the goal of every professional sales person to become effective.

Now the apostle Paul is telling Philemon that he is praying that when he shares his faith it will be effective.  For years, I could have been described as an undercover Christian; I read my Bible, went to church, prayed at meals, even in public, and loved my family, but being effective in sharing my faith in the workplace was not in my schedule.   If you identify with me, do not be fooled, you are sharing your faith, but it is a faith that has no appeal to anyone who is watching.

So what does an effective faith look like?  Effective faith lived out in public and in the home relays this message; I believe Jesus tells the truth.  You learn that Philippians 4:13, “I can do all things through him who strengthens me,” will not work until you have discovered what Anabel Gillham discovered, not her strength, but letting God do it all for you.  I believe her amplified paraphrase of Philippians 4:13, is worth repeating: “I have discovered – very painfully – that I am not capable within myself to deal with the world and all that is in it.  When that shocking and humiliating discovery was made, I turned to God and said, “I cannot do this.  Please do it for me.”  I now have great confidence in Him – in all things, and His strength working through me.”  Grasping that truth and asking the Holy Spirit to lead you into all truth so that your faith will grow is needed in the Church, and it is essential to believe John 14:26, “If anyone loves me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him.”  Your title in life will not make you love Jesus, but when Christ becomes your life, His life is manifest in everything you do, and the sharing of your faith will become effective.  George MacDonald had this to say on the subject: “The Kingdom of heaven is not come, even when God’s will is our law; it is come when God’s will is our will.  While God’s will is our law, we are but a kind of noble slave; when his will is our will, we are free children.”

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice