25 Sep Faith in Action in Hard Places
by Andy Dunkerton
– I’m writing this short blog post to recommend highly that you read another blog post, written by our sister Kittery Van Sciver. You can find it here:
If you’re not familiar with the circumstances behind this post, Artie and Kittery are expecting their second child, a son they’ve named Arthur. Several months ago, they received the difficult news that Arthur has anencephaly, a condition affecting the development of the skull and brain. Babies with anencephaly cannot survive long outside the womb. Some do not make it to delivery. Some survive for minutes, days or at most a few months.
Since receiving this news, Kittery has written a number of posts, all worth reading. I’m recommending this one in particular for three reasons:
1) It’s an excellent statement on the Christian view of the sanctity of all human life.
Pro-life positions that aren’t rooted in a Christian, biblical worldview are vulnerable to crumble when circumstances are unfavorable, unpleasant or heart-breaking. The pro-life position that trusts in a good and sovereign God who gave His own Son to taste death for us remains steadfast even in the face of great personal cost.
2) It’s a remarkable, encouraging example of real Christian faith in action in the hard places of life.
Specific circumstances produced this testimony of faith and trust in God. But the essence of Kittery’s hope is a model for us all in our own hard places of life. We need such examples. Far too often, we react to the trials, suffering and even the inconveniences of life by the flesh rather than by faith. But we’re called to be a people of faith. We’re called to live all of life by faith. And our God is glorified when we show how worthy He is to be trusted.
Living by faith is not easy and doesn’t lessen life’s pains. But it’s faith in who God is and what He’s done for us in Christ that empowers us daily to lay down our own lives (i.e. wills, desires, wants, needs, pleasures) for the sake of Christ and for the sake of others. To know Christ as Savior and Lord is to walk as He walked- dying so that others might live. And when we do this by God’s grace, we’re astonished to find that we’re truly living the abundant life Christ came to give us! Self-love and self-preservation offer the bait of a happy life but hide a deadly hook. Jesus offers abundant life on an outstretched, nail-pierced hand by which He delivers what He promises. But do we really believe it? Does our faith in His Word and in His character show up in action in the hard places of life? God is helping Artie and Kittery to be a truly encouraging example of what that looks like. See His grace in their example. Trust that same grace to put faith into action in your hard places today.
3) It reminds us to pray for them.
As I’ve said, the path God has called Artie and Kittery to walk is not easy. In fact, it’s impossible in their own strength. They can only walk this road in a God-honoring way by His grace, power and presence in their lives. Let’s walk with them by our prayers and rejoice to see what the grace of God can do in lives surrendered to His good and gracious will.