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About Jesus - Steve Sweetman Our
Allotment Of Faith "Think
of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the measure of faith
God has given you" (Romans 12:3 NIV).
What does "according to the measure of faith God has given
you" mean? Our English word "faith" is translated from the Greek word "pistis" in this verse and throughout the New Testament. Pistis means trust; a trust that is based on one's assurance in the ability that something or someone claims to possess. For example, when you sit in a chair, you trust the chair will not collapse. Holman's Bible Dictionary defines Biblical faith as "a trusting commitment of one person to another." As it applies to Jesus, faith is a trusting commitment to Jesus. It's the assurance that we can trust Him with our lives. Faith is resting in His ability, not our ability. Paul
said that God gives us faith. In
other words, He enables us to trust Jesus. This
tells me that we have no capacity to generate genuine faith on our own.
We are that depraved (Jeremiah 17:9).
We can't even approach Jesus without God's assistance (John
6:65). For this reason God
has to enable us to trust Jesus.
Paul
said that God gives us the ability to trust Jesus in measure, or in
allotted proportions. Not
all of us have the same ability to trust Jesus.
In context, both when and how much God enables us to trust Jesus
is determined by our placement and responsibilities in the Body of
Christ. Some
responsibilities require more ability to trust in Jesus than others.
If this is a new thought for you, read the next few verses beyond
Romans 12:3. You
might wonder how God gives us the ability to trust Jesus more than we
presently do. The answer may
be unsettling. It's found in
1 Peter 1:6 to 10. "Now
for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of
trials. These have come so
that your faith … may be proven genuine."
If you desire to trust Jesus more than you presently do, don't blame the devil for your troubles.
God allows trials to come your way to test your
trust in Jesus. In the midst
of the struggle you're presented with the option to trust Jesus or to
trust ourselves. If you
choose Jesus, His Spirit will enable you to submit to God's will despite
the trial. When it's all
said and done, you'll trust Jesus more than ever.
Then, sooner or later, another test of trust will come your way
and the process begins all over again. Faith
is the ability to trust our lives to Jesus, something we do not have the
capacity to do on our own. God,
therefore, enables us to trust Jesus in allotted measurements according
to our God given responsibilities in the Body of Christ.
If you are serious about faith in Jesus, God will test your trust, and if
you're willing, He'll enable you to pass the test.
You'll end up trusting Jesus more than you presently do.
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