Subtract, then Add

Reading Jim Cymbala’s Fresh Faith challenges me from time to time. In chapter 12 Addition by Subtraction, he talks about the fact that we can only move on by losing some things in life. There are certain things we must give up in order to move ahead and follow the Lord. In other words, we must empty ourselves in order to be filled with. Jesus said, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.” (Mk. 1:15) Repentance points to the reality of being emptied; trust, to the reality of being filled with God’s blessing in Christ. This is a kingdom principle in the life of faith.

Jim Cymbala wrote:

We have to face the fact that in order to be what God wants us to be, he will have to take away things in our life that don’t belong. In any life or ministry devoted to him, we must stop and ask, “Are there attitudes here that grieve the Lord? Are there habits that need to be broken? What are the impurities that must go? How about that desire to be seen, that competitiveness, that seeking for glory and acclaim? What about the prejudice or judgmentalism toward others?” We must be absolutely open in inviting God to thoroughly search us and take away anything he sees fit. (Kindle location 2346, 2356).

In the process of growth, God gives us more by first taking things away from us that don’t belong to us as God’s children. “His process is to subtract in order to add. He will never make a treaty with our secret pockets of sin.” (Kindle location 2337)

Fresh Faith

After attending the Brooklyn Tabernacle today, I came home and read Jim Cymbala’s Fresh Faith: What Happens When Real Faith Ignites God’s people (Zondervan, Kindle Version). This is the fourth book that I read from him. The Brooklyn Tabernacle is a good church, for she makes me trust in God in whom nothing is impossible. Throughout my Christian journey, I have focused more on the ordinary side of the Christian faith. In other words, I’ve focused my attention on down-to-earth spirituality. Most of my books are about encountering God in our ordinary life. How extraordinary could it be in our everyday life? If Christians can’t recognize the life of ordinariness and address it with realism, what good does the Christian faith make in our lives? I believe that there is nothing wrong with this side of spirituality. Otherwise, many Christian thinkers and writers will be out of business. Embracing our ordinariness is part of our faith. However, many times the Bible looks at God from an extraordinary standpoint.

In Fresh Faith, I am reminded of Romans 4 in which Abraham’s faith is described vividly.

Romans 4:19-22:

“He did not weaken in faith when he considered his own body, which was as good as dead (since he was about a hundred years old), or when he considered the barrenness of Sarah’s womb. No distrust made him waver concerning the promise of God, but he grew strong in his faith as he gave glory to God, fully convinced that God was able to do what he had promised. That is why his faith was ‘counted to him as righteousness.’”

Abraham was 99. Sarah was barren. It was a hopeless situation. But the text says, “No distrust made him waver concerning the promise of God. The God of miracle triumphed the old age of Abraham and the barrenness of Sarah. In Him, all things are possible. If God can do something like that in the family of Abraham, what else can’t he do in my life or in my family?

Jim Cymbala said:

Isn’t that a powerful Scripture? Realism about the problem was not anti-faith in the slightest. In fact, it made Abraham say, ‘O God, you are the only one who can change this situation. Come and help us, we pray!” (Fresh Faith, Kindle location 531, 540.)

I pray that I will continue to have true faith in Him, and my faith is not the faith that helps me grasp more and more things from God, but promotes godliness and devotion in me towards Him so that I can serve Him in the way that I can please Him. For the Bible says, “Without faith, it is impossible to please Him.” (Heb. 11:6)