By Kathleen Kjolhaug
The conversation looped around—three times to be exact. Questions flew: Why was I so naïve in my faith? Why wasn’t I taught—or was I taught and I just didn’t get it? Why am I hearing things for the very first time when I read scripture? Did they go over my head? Wasn’t I ready?
The questions came rapid fire in conversation with three different people—in a span of three days. Quicky, each one concurred that God must need us at varying stages of our faith development so that He may use us as He needs—to speak, to do, and to live the gift of faith He is growing within us. As the discussion ensued in the middle of round three, the words spoken did not return void. “Yet, He still loved us at each and every stage we went through,” said my wise friend.
The words were foundational. Romans 5:8 puts it like this. “But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.”
You see, it matters not at what stage of development we are; the bottom line remains that while we were yet ignorant, He loved us. While we were yet stubborn, He loved us. While we were yet wayward, He loved us. While we yet wanted our own way, He loved us. While we were yet struggling with desire to belong to the world, He loved us. While we were yet goofing off and dilly-dallying wasting money, time and space, He loved us. While we were not perfect and remain imperfect, He loves us—present tense. And, when we stumble and fall, He loves us still.
As these discussions ensued— the discussing the love our Father has for us all at all stages and ages—the following entered into the discussion. We compared our inability to give grace to ourselves as we take a look back at our developing stages of faith—to that of a sportster. We noted how an athlete who can now dunk a basketball would never have the same expectations of themselves when they were three. As a baby lies there, we don’t measure them by their ability to walk or talk yet—it’s flat out not possible. It’s not possible to dunk a basketball until after you learn to dribble it and grow to a height where it would be remotely possible. There is a process and an order for everything. And so it is with the mystery of faith. He gently develops our faith. And we are only able to receive that which He desires to pour out at any given time because “He knows our needs before we even ask” (Matthew 6:8). Matt. 7:7-8 goes on to explain how our hearts are readied as we grow and know more. “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.” Did you catch that? EVERYONE who asks, receives. The door will be opened to EVERYONE. At every age and stage of development, He not only loves us, but provides a way for us as we grow into the image of Christ Jesus. What a beautiful journey our faith walk is as we loop through this gift called life. “In Him our hope” (Psalm 33:22). Amen.
