1 Peter 1:3-9 “3 Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In His great mercy He has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4 and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade. This inheritance is kept in heaven for you, 5 who through faith are shielded by God’s power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time. 6 In all this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. 7 These have come so that the proven genuineness of your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed. 8 Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, 9 for you are receiving the end result of your faith, the salvation of your souls.”

   Faith and love are the most central elements in the Christian life. Faith, no doubt, because it is the means by which we are told salvation becomes ours. However our faith—or lack of it—shapes our lives and determines what happens to us when the seas of life get choppy. Some Christians never lose their footing no matter how rough it gets, but others are toppled by the slightest wave. To understand how this happens, we need to examine the source or type of our faith.

   Inherited faith: If you grew up in a Christian home, you probably adopted some of the beliefs of your parents. This kind of godly foundation is what Timothy benefited from, but eventually, just as Timothy, each person must assume responsibility for his own beliefs. There comes a time, when each one of us leaves the nest, when we get to stand tall and face the world. This world is not a very friendly place for a follower of Jesus as it was not very friendly to Jesus. This is when your relationship with Jesus comes front and center as a shield of faith and the strength of this shield is given by how intimate do you know this Jesus.

   Textbook faith: The Bible is the ultimate guide for establishing our beliefs. But that’s not the only source of influence. Books, preachers, teachers, and friends all impact our perception and point of view. Our theology may in fact be sound, but faith is merely mental acceptance until it’s put to the test. This is what James talks about in saying that faith without works is dead. James is not talking only about the doing good deeds type of work but also about triumph over choppy waters kind of faith.

   Proven Faith: Only when we trust the Lord through the fires of adversity will we have faith that can stand. It is no longer based on what others have told us or what we’ve accepted as true but on our firsthand experience of His faithfulness. This kind of faith cannot be learned, cannot be taught even though it can be witnessed and learned by example but its defining moment comes when it is lived.

   To evaluate your faith, consider how you react to adversity. Do you cling to the Lord or get angry at Him? How different is your attitude from that of 1 Peter 1:3-9?