I believe with all my heart and confess that, “everything that does not come from faith is sin.”[1] However, it is possible to wait, and wait, and wait, on a word from the Lord until that too becomes sin. Even if we never get a word on God’s future plans we already have plenty to keep us busy. Faithful and sacrificial living involves, first, acting on what we DO know. Faithful and sacrificial living means living out the faith we claim in such a way that God is glorified, and yes, this may mean sacrifice. Francis Chan wrote,
“[D]welling on God’s plan for the future often excuses us from faithful and sacrificial living now. It tends to create a safe zone of sorts, where we can sit around and have ‘spiritual’ conversations about what God ‘might’ have planned for our lives.”[2]
These words do not discredit planning for the future. They encourage living now WHILE planning for the future. The issue is not how we save or build for tomorrow, but how we serve God now. There are several possible scenes in the tale of our lives.
“Thinking, questioning, and talking can take the place of letting the Spirit affect our immediate actions in radical ways. God wants to see His children stake everything on His power and presence in their lives,” Says Chan.[3]
It is not that we should not wait to hear from the Holy Spirit. We must wait to hear from the Holy Spirit. But the Holy Spirit of God has spoken on so many things so clearly that we are without excuse. Nothing “excuses us from faithful and sacrificial living now.”
The truth is some things will not wait. The starving may starve, the lonely may lose all hope, and those who have never heard—may die having never heard. Nothing “excuses us from faithful and sacrificial living now.”
The Spirit of God, among other things, shows us the Father, reveals Jesus, and brings us wisdom. He speaks to us in words difficult to ignore.[4]
“He has showed you, O man, what is good and what does the LORD require of you; to act justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God.[5]
The truth is faithful living IS sacrificial living. For the Christian there should be no gap between living faithfully and dying to self, between loving God and taking up our cross. Faithful living IS sacrificial living.
[1] Romans 14:23
[2] Chan, Forgotten God, p. 121.
[3] Chan, p. 121.
[4] John 14:8-12, John 15:26, Ephesians 1:17
[5] Micah 6:8
May we remember that we do not live for ourselves, but for Him who died for us and rose again! Moment by moment sacrifice and faithfulness is harder than one or two great moments of heroism.