Jesus said that it's wise for a person to count the cost of anything they decide to do. So what is the cost of a search for faith? Four things come to mind...
- Determination & Patience. Faith isn't something you can pick up over your lunch hour or during halftime on Sunday. Finding faith takes work. Nothing good comes easy and it's foolish to search for the most important thing in life half-heartedly.
- Honesty. A true search for faith is a look inward as much as it is a look outward. A search for faith is ultimately a search for God and the closer you get to God the greater a sense of self-awareness you'll have. Are you willing to look in the mirror and see the layers of denial and self-interest peeled back?
- Reason. We often speak of faith as if it were a substitute for reason..."blind faith" or a "leap of faith". When someone asks a person of faith for some hard evidence, the simplistic answer is often "Just believe". Sorry, that doesn't cut it. True faith IS based on evidence just like a good jury trial. We collect evidence until we can make a conclusion - not based on being at the scene of the crime - but the quality of evidence at hand. Faith doesn't negate intelligence, it engages it.
- Your whole life. You may not start your quest for faith willing to give your life but I assure you that that is where it will end if you do indeed find faith. God doesn't negotiate with us in this venture. At some point you will need to decide if you are willing to go all the way with God or not. He doesn't bargain. There are no half-price sales in faith. The cost is your life.
