Faith is not a checklist
that can be completed
It is not an accumulation of gold stars
that we can affix to a chart
It is not intensive study
so that we can pass a test
It is a relationship in which we
share out of our abundance
love with abandon
see others with the eyes of God
honor God’s image in ourselves
and trust that God is around and at work
even when the evidence is hard to spot
It is shedding our expectations
even as we lay claim to hope
It is done in us and through us
but not by our own power
It is never finished
just as we are never finished
It is beauty and challenge
falling short and trying again
all rolled up together
It is complicated
and life-sustaining,
a gift from above
Help us to accept it
with grateful hearts
Amen
Laura Stephens-Reed is a clergy and congregational coach working with ministers and churches across the ecumenical spectrum. Having served in a variety of pastoral roles and denominations, she is primarily affiliated with the Alliance of Baptists and the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship and has ministerial standing in the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ). Based in northwest Alabama (United States), Laura is married to a United Methodist pastor, and they have a eight-year-old son. She blogs weekly at laurastephensreed.com.
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